Dear Kate...

I received a very inspiring comment from a young woman who fought for her dream and was finally given her chance to be a mother. I have to share it... (I hope she doesn't mind) :)

"My fertility journey started four and a half years ago. We "tried" for about 7 months. I had a feeling something wasn't right. We saw an OB and he tried one round of artificial insemination. You know, a dose of clomid and then the procedure. When it didn't work, I didn't feel great about going back, so I scheduled an appointment with a fertility specialist (and thank goodness, we would have wasted a bunch of money had we stayed with that clueless OB). Once we got in I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries (not the syndrome) and my husband with low sperm count, we tried several more rounds of AI with no success. We took a break for 3 months from more fertility procedures, and started our paperwork for adoption. (figured we may as well try everything we could, and we felt really good about adoption). We tried a few more rounds of AI and after those failed, I was done and we decided to try in-vitro. When that failed, I was really done. We then decided to put all our focus on adoption. A year into waiting (and 3 months after the failed in-vitro) for a baby, we got a call about a baby in Oregon. We flew out there, met the birthmom, waited for a week for her to deliver, then the birthparents decided to get married and we left without a baby. That, by far, was the hardest thing I have been through. Harder then all the failed fertility treatments. About 5 months after the failed adoption, we got an email from another birth mother. We met her, she was only 2.5 mo. along in her pregnancy, she chose us to be the parents to her baby and so we started waiting. We felt different about this situation. We went to doctor appointments with her, we went to the ultrasound appointment with her and found out we were having a boy. We were thrilled!!! Our son was born almost exactly a year after our failed adoption and after 3 years of "trying". He is the light of our lives.

I wouldn't trade any of what I have been through for anything. What I have gained as a result of our infertility has been a great blessing to me. It is something I treasure and hold dear.

I have learned and grown and become such a better person because of all I have experienced. It has made me a better mother, wife, friend and daughter. If I could get pregnant tomorrow but I had to trade all that I gained from this trial, I would turn it down in a heart beat. Recently I have jumped the hurdle in this whole infertility journey that if I never conceive a child in this life, I am ok with that. Our adoption was such a wonderful gift and I can't wait to do it again.

I was recently reading a blog post about infertility that I thought summed up my feelings about this whole journey perfectly. She wrote:'It has now almost been a year since my stalled infertility. I came to know that pregnancy carries with it it's own special bag of insecurities and anxieties. Should I be blessed with that once-assumed ample fertility from here on out I will be ever so grateful. If not, and my months of wishes return I will also be grateful. And this is why: Something still grows inside a woman who doesn't conceive a baby. In her grows character that is consumed with confidence, humility and desire. A symbolic embryo that is hers to nurture and others to behold.And its birth is phenomenal.'Nurture your symbolic embryo. Because it's there and it's growing. And it's beautiful and something to be proud of."

***Wow Kate! I am breathless from all this. Thank you so much for sharing your incredible story with me. I am so touched and so happy for you and your family. You are a "survivor" and an inspiration. I hope I can strive for the attitude you have embraced. I still stuggle quite a bit, but I know that someday it will be my turn, however it happens. And I LOVED the quote you shared also. It is so comforting and empowering. THANK YOU! :)

Never Giving Up,

Halley