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Apr 16, 2013

Your Ask Me Anything Questions Answered!

April 16, 2013 By 2 Comments

WeGo Health HAWMC 2013

It is finally time to answer all of the Ask Me Anything questions you all asked! Wow, you guys did not take it easy on me at all! These were some good ones!

Alicia asked:

How can others support you as you begin considering a ministry to others with chronic illness? What resources could we help provide? How specifically can we pray for you with this?

Thank you so much for your support as I pray about this endeavor! I definitely want to put a lot of prayer and preparation into building this ministry as I do not consider it something to be taken lightly. I ask for prayer for not only myself but for the community as God would go before even the first meeting and prepare the hearts of those who will take part. Lisa Copen’s book How to Start A Chronic Illness Small Group Ministry has provided a wonderful foundation and I plan to follow the HopeKeepers model that is a part of Rest Ministries. My goal is to start the local ministry this fall!

Also, any advice for someone, like me, who wants to blog more but struggles to find prompts, time, etc.

This is a struggle for me too! I think being a part of a blogging community, like SITS, is a great way to find blogging support. I know that they are a big part of why I continue to blog! If you check out my blogging resources page, I have listed my favorite sites and ebooks that I have found helpful over the years. I have also found Pinterest to be a HUGE resource in finding ways to organize my blogging and better manage my time as well as find endless prompts and writing tips. I have a list of my blogging pin boards on my resource page as well! I am working with another blogger to start a Bloggers Book Club (where we will work through various blogging books as a group) so keep an eye out for more information as it comes!

Mary Fran asked:

Maybe this is too big of a question, but how do you hold on to your faith through the pain?

This is definitely a big one but it is a big part of my journey and a big part of why I blog. I grew up in a church where you didn’t ask questions (especially not God) so when I started struggling with chronic illness, I had a hard time trying to figure out how to balance my faith and my illness. I had to figure out how suffering and pain fit in with my understanding of who God is. Was my illness part of God’s will? More importantly, did He cause me to be sick? I wrestled with this question for some time. Thankfully I had professors and a peer group that helped me work through it (I was working a chaplain intern at a hospital when everything hit the fan so to speak). In my journey, I came to the place where I accepted that I would not always have the answers and that was ok. Instead I could trust in the character of God and His promises. I don’t believe that He willed me to be sick but I do think He gives me the choice of how to respond to my sickness. I can either allow it to make me bitter and shut down or I can choose to find a way to honor Him through it. Being conscious of that choice helps me hold onto my faith even through the darkest times. It doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle or get angry because I totally do. Its during those times that I cling to His promises even tighter.

The Norwegian Girl asked:

What is your biggest dream in life?

That is such a tough question! One of my biggest dreams came to life when I became a mom. During our infertility struggles, I was not sure it was ever gong to happen so when they placed Abby in my arms, my greatest dream became a reality. Outside of that, I think my biggest dream is to grow A New Kind of Normal into a full-scale chronic illness ministry!

Alisha asked:

I know you were blessed with a daughter through adoption (I actually have 2 adopted siblings, so I understand the gift of adoption) but is it hard to not be able to be pregnant and carry a child inside of you for 9 months? How do you deal with it?

I am incredibly blessed to be a mom through adoption. I could not love Abby any more if she had come from my body. But I would be lying if I said that I did not still grieve the loss of my fertility and the inability to carry a child. It still hurts very much. My family seems to be very fertile (I’m the only one in my generation that I know of that has struggled to get pregnant) so I feel like an outsider at times. I think my hysterectomy was much harder on me mentally and emotionally than it was physically. My scar is a permanent reminder of what will never be. Everyone jokes about how you always get pregnant after you adopt and knowing that even the greatest amount of  medical intervention would allow me to experience pregnancy hurts. The way I deal with it is that I recognize my loss and give myself permission to grieve when necessary. Grieving my loss of fertility does not mean that I love Abby any less or that I am not thankful for her. It took me awhile to accept that. The sting has gotten less and the moments of grief occur less often as time goes by but I don’t think it will ever go away completely. It is now a part of my story and hopefully being able to help others who are traveling a similar journey will help give my pain purpose.

Cheryl asked:

How are you telling people about the leave decision and filing for disability? I find it hard and feel like I get this “slacker” look from folks when I say the pain leaves me in bed much of the time and all I can mangage is a small bit of writing….probably b/c so many people abuse the system which makes it harder for those who truly need the help.

I completely understand what you mean. I have been more vocal about my decision to pursue disability online than I have in person. I did have some “but you don’t look sick” comments from individuals at work when they heard about my medical leave but those close to me knew the truth. I think my surgical history (and my recurrent hospitalizations last summer) maybe made it a little easier for some to understand. I do think the abuse of the system makes it harder on those who really need it to not only get the help they need but receive the validation about the reality of their illness. I am not hiding my decision to file for disability but I’m not sharing many of the details. At this point in my journey, I need support not criticism and judgement.

Thank you to everyone who left questions! I really enjoyed it! As always, if you have other questions or want to chat, please feel free to email me or contact me via Twitter or Facebook!

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Filed Under: chronic illness, health Tagged With: , , , ,
Nov 7, 2012

Doctors Office Redo

November 7, 2012 By 1 Comment

NHPBM with WeGo Health

In the last nine years, I have spent more than my share of time in doctors offices.  Especially with my journey with endometriosis, my obgyns’s office has become a second home. I know all of the staff and they all know me and my family. I always joke that I have earned “frequent flyer” miles and that my doctor would have to start wheeling my chart in with a wheelbarrow as its gotten quite thick.

At one of my last visits, the nurse took myself and my husband back to one of the rooms and after taking my temperature and blood pressure, she left the room and put my chart on the holder in the door. Within a few minutes, we heard a loud crash and an “oh, shoot” (verdict is out on whether not the word was “shoot” or some other version…lol). My chart seemed to have won the battle against the holder. Last time I noticed shiny new reinforced brackets were installed!

In my time spent in this particular office, I could offer a few pieces of redesign advice. To start with a positive, I love the calm, serene blue they chose for the paint in the waiting area and having a water cooler with cups available is great. Two thumbs up. However, the chairs are extremely uncomfortable. In all of my years, I  have only visited one doctors office that actually had comfortable chairs in the waiting room (my rheumatologist’s office has recliners!). The exam rooms could be a little more welcoming as well. Would a fluffy robe and memory foam exam table versus the thin gowns and paper covers be too much to ask? A basket of fuzzy socks would be great too :)

Not Your Typical Waiting room

Check out this waiting room at Hevia Cosmetic Dermatology in Miama, Fl!

Medical Office Interior Design

This hospital room by the Medical Office Interior Design is gorgeous!

My biggest wish for my doctors office – I think any obgyn office in general as I have had similar discussions with ladies over time in my infertility group – is to make the space more infertile-friendly. Dealing with pregnant women is obviously a big portion of the clientele so the abundance of pregnancy magazines and posters is understandable but there are also those trying to get pregnant and having difficulty conceiving that find it hard to look at. I am not saying that there needs to be a separate “fertile” and “infertile” waiting areas as that is a stretch but I know many occasions where there was not a single non-pregnancy/parenting magazine in the entire waiting area. It was hard to sit there when I was dying inside from yet another failed fertility cycle when I had a row of smiling pregnant women starting back at me. Side note: my doctor’s office is awesome for grouping ob appointments and gyn appointments together so very rarely did I have an infertility appointment in the midst of pregnant women and I am so thankful for that.

If you had to redesign a doctor’s office, what would you change?

Filed Under: chronic illness, health Tagged With: , , ,
Apr 23, 2012

Being Infertile in a Fertile Family

April 23, 2012 By 3 Comments

Growing up the thought of never being able to have children never crossed my mind. Aunt Flo decided to her monthly visits the month before starting eighth grade. My cycles were like clockwork and I could have easily marked a calendar. The only time there was a missed cycle was during my heavy long distance training my senior year which was not a surprise because of the mileage I was logging. So, if you had asked the 17 year old me that I would have issues getting pregnant, I would have laughed.

You see, I come from a fertile family. My cousins seemed to have no problem at all getting pregnant (and continuing to get pregnant multiple times). My mom didn’t have any trouble getting pregnant so my genetics were ok, right? Even when I was diagnosed with endometriosis, I didn’t want count myself out because 70% of women with endo are able to get pregnant (sometimes with the help of fertility treatments) so my logical self found the statistics to be in our favor.

So when the decision was made to try to make our family grow to three, we were feeling positive. I had an understanding that maybe we wouldn’t get lucky on the first try but that was ok. We knew our time would come and it would be our turn to make a baby announcement that so many of my family members had made.

When  you start trying to conceive (TTC) begin to plan your time in 28 day increments, the calendar can move slowly. We had to change it up a bit as some cycles were 35 days, some were 60, so it seemed we were in a perpetual state of “what if.”

Time clicked by and knowing my pain from endometriosis would creep up not being on birth control, we decided to step up the game by tracking my cycles.  Every day began by checking my basal body temperature and entering it in  onto my fertility calendar. This calendar also dictated when we should be intimate. Surely with all that knowledge, I would be able to get pregnant right?

Months ticked pass. Soon it was six months. Then right in time for my 25th birthday, we were branded. INFERTILE.

I cried as John and I sat in my doctor’s office making decisions about what to try next. Trying to get pregnant became a roller coaster of emotions. We would start every cycle hopeful as we would be using a treatment/medications to increase the chances of getting pregnant. Midcycle we would be anxious about the multiple numbers (follicles, lining, etc) and what they meant for us. Then the next two weeks we waited with baited breath on what the verdict would be. I would over-analyze every feeling and emotion wondering if it meant I was pregnant. A small fortune was spent on ovulation and pregnancy tests. Then the day came – NOT PREGNANT.

This went on for three years. I am typically a fan of roller coasters but this was one that I would have liked to get off. We cried. We searched for answers. We wondered why we were infertile when no one else in our family was. Had we done something wrong? Everyone in our families could have kids so why couldn’t we?

It was hard to be surrounded with babies and pregnancy announcements in the three years that we waited. The “just relax” and “your time will come” comments which were once  meant as comfort became words of hurt. We felt isolated as it seemed like everyone but us was able to get pregnant or others had gotten to a point where they didn’t know anything else to say.

Becoming a parent through the miracle of adoption has been a tremendous blessing. Words cannot describe how much I love my daughter and words cannot express the gratitude I have for her birth family who gave us the honor of being her parents.

However, it does not erase the scars left behind by infertility. In my case, I have a very literal and visible scar from my infertility. There are the still the questions of what it would have been like had we been able to get pregnant. Its not the same as saying we would have rather have a different family that didn’t not include adoption so don’t read it wrong. Those questions include what it would have been like to see pregnant on a pregnancy test or seeing the heartbeat on an ultrasound for the first time or feeling the baby moving. These are the experiences that we grieve. We would not trade our family for anything but please do not forget what we have had to go through to get here.

This week is the National Infertility  Awareness Week. Please check out more about NIAW week at resolve.org!

 

Filed Under: health, IF, motherhood Tagged With: , , , ,

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