The resounding words of our final consultation with our fertility specialists lingered in my mind, "There is nothing more we can do. You are not going to have many more kids. Be grateful you have one kid.” After seven failed IVF attempts and 5.5 years of heartache without cradling a live, healthy baby this was a huge blow. Yet, I refused to succumb to despair; I embraced the need to re-strategize, clinging to a sliver of hope for one last opinion.
To grasp the depth of my journey, here's an ultra-summarised timeline of my battle with endometriosis and infertility: It all began in around 2009 when the hope of growing our family and giving a sibling to my nearly 2-year-old son remained unfulfilled. The subsequent years unfolded with consultations, treatments, and procedures, encompassing seven IVF cycles, two heartbreaking miscarriages, three laparoscopies for stage 3 endometriosis, many hysteroscopies, untold number of additional interventions, lots of prodding and poking as well as having to have my “uterus reconstructed” due to Asherman's syndrome*. Reconstructing my uterus was how my specialists explained it to me.
I left the fertility specialist's office with determination coursing through my veins I will have another baby, and I will find out what is preventing me from falling pregnant. Armed with resilience, I sought a second opinion and underwent another assessment of my endometriosis status.
Despite lacking classic symptoms, the new specialist delved into a thorough examination, confirming stage 3 endometriosis once more. He successfully removed all the endometrial tissue. Two months later, a miracle unfolded as I found myself naturally pregnant. This pregnancy mirrored the perfection of my first pregnancy, and on May 31, 2014, I cradled a healthy baby boy in my arms.
As my miracle boy turned 1.5 years old, we got the shock of a positive pregnancy test again. This time it was pink. The evening before her older brother’s 9th birthday, their little sister was born.
*Asherman's syndrome: * Asherman syndrome (intrauterine adhesions or intrauterine synechiae) occurs when scar tissue forms inside the uterus and/or the cervix. These adhesions occur after surgery of the uterus or after a dilatation and curettage with tuberculosis and schistosomiasis being a less common cause.
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