the beginning.
When I was thinking about writing about our journey, I kept trying to think of a starting point. The more I thought about my experiences, the more I realized the beginning of this journey started almost two decades ago.
When I was eleven, I was having issues that other eleven year-old girls didn’t have to deal with. I was going through puberty very early, and my hormones were going crazy. I had terrible acne, hair growing where it shouldn’t, and a host of other issues that are difficult to handle while trying to fit in with middle school girls. While trying to figure out what was causing all of these changes at such a young age, I broke a bone while horseback riding. When the doctors examined my x-rays, they noticed that my growth plates were already fused - I was done growing at eleven years-old.
After seeing countless doctors and being poked and prodded for numerous tests, it was finally determined that I had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). I didn’t really know much about it at the time, and I didn’t really care what was causing my symptoms as long as I could take something to make them stop. When I was thirteen, I was prescribed birth control pills to help decrease the severity of my PCOS symptoms (hair growth, acne, irregular cycles, etc.) Although my bones were already fused, at least I could do something for the rest of my body. At such a young age, I didn’t spend time worrying about my fertility. It was mentioned to me and my family that having a child would be difficult, if not impossible. At the time, my mindset was, “I’ll deal with that when I get there.”
For the time being, the birth control cleared my acne, made my cycles more regular, and allowed me to feel like a somewhat normal teenager. Little did I know that my journey with fertility problems, a journey that ultimately led to my greatest blessing, Connor, had begun.
