This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. It is a movement to raise awareness about the disease of infertility which effects 7.3 million americans. Infertility is something that has been a part of my life for quite some time now. We struggled to become pregnant for for quite some time before we were finally blessed with Sam. Becoming pregnant for me is just so "unnatural", with Sam it was fertility injections, ultrasounds after ultrasounds, blood work and more blood work, and intrauterine insemination. Finally it worked!! God blessed us with the BIGGEST and GREATEST blessing EVER and to him I am and always will be so VERY thankful!! I didnt care really how "unnatural" it was... all I knew is I was to be a mother!!
For this child we prayed and God has granted our request ~ Samuel 1:27
Thank you Lord for my Sam!!
I really cant explain how wonderful it has been and my heart truly breaks for those who have never been able to experience that. I have a best friend... we've been friends since around the 7th grade and she and her husband have never been able to experience that and they wont ever birth a child of their own. They are in the process now of adoption and I pray some day very soon their dreams will come true!! Anyways back to our story, after Sam turned 3, we decided we were ready to try and go down that road again. We knew what my condition was (PCOS, polycystic ovarian disease) and knew the infertility doctors had figured out how to treat me and achieve pregnancy and just maybe this time would be easier for us.... well that hasnt been the case!! at all =( With PCOS, basically my body is insulin resistant and causes me not to ovulate. There are many things that can effect it and for me one of them is my diet. As we were trying again, my Dr recommended a certain medication that would help with the insulin resistance and of course a strict diet, basically no carbs =( I did this, and it was easy, I was motivated!! I lost 40 lbs, and with taking my meds, I actually started ovulating ON MY OWN, whoo hoo!! Maybe I would get pregnant on my own???!!! without any help at all this time. Well after about a year of that, it still wasnt happening, so back to Birmingham to ART... Dr Long was wonderful!! His thinking was we will just treat you the same as we did with Sam, it worked so why not try it again? He was very hopeful and positive!! and I was too! Can I say what a letdown that was.
After all those treatments and not to mention the $$$ still no pregnancy!! So this time we needed to recheck Chad and I both, just make sure there wasnt any new reasons as to why all of this wasnt working... this time a new problem arose.... with Chad. COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED and UNEXPLAINABLE..... when he was checked out before Sam EVERYTHING WAS COMPLETELY ABOVE NORMAL now his results were horrible, and after being checked out there wasnt any reason for the diagnosis, there was no apparent reason the Doctors could find that would cause this problem for him. So, now what do we do?? Well the next recommendation from Dr. Long was we needed InVitro and the chances of that working werent even that great..... First of all we DONT have $10,000 or more for this procedure and there not even be a guarantee that it will work!! Needless to say that was back in November of 2009 when we last talked to Dr. Long. Here we are today and Chad and I barely even talk about it, we just cant..... I think about it almost every day!! I have gained all 40lbs back.... and think I really am a little on the depressed side. I try to think Im not, that its normal to have good and bad days... I just always have in the back of my mind that maybe just maybe......
Last week I went in for my yearly exam... my nurse practitioner told me not to give up.... that it wouldnt hurt to just recheck Chad again since its been almost 6 months, that maybe just maybe, his results would change back to normal just as fast as they changed to abnormal!! and to definitely get back on my diet not just for fertility reasons but for health reasons too! So thats where we are..... I havent talked about it on my blog much in a while, I just felt like it was getting to be like a broken record and all of you were probably getting tired of hearing it over and over. Chad will be getting rechecked in the next week or so. Please pray for improvement for him....
I know that some of you that read are currently in this same struggle. We all have dreams, wishes, and plans for our future and that if we plan them that they will happen. Its not always in our timing. Its God's plans and his timing!! I pray God will soon bless you, never give up, rely on your faith, and he will see you through...
As far as the NIAW, if any of you are suffering from infertility check out the website....
