Every successful man I have heard of has done the best he could with conditions as he found them, and not waited until the next year for better. — Edgar Watson Howe
The first thing I would suggest anyone do that is facing infertility is to immediately give thanks for it.
This may seem counter intuitive and it is hardly the approach I took when I first learned that we would need assisted reproduction to have a child.
Hindsight gives you a much clearer vision to help people who are just beginning in this journey.
I wasted time being angry at the world, at God, at people who conceived easily. And time is a luxury that you simply don’t have when the biological time clock is ticking.
I’m not saying you don’t need to get all that negative stuff out. Just don’t get lost in it.
The reason you should give thanks is you have an opportunity to immediately surround yourself with some of the strongest, most compassionate people you will ever meet: other infertility patients.
Whether grizzled veterans of multiple procedures who continue to give back even though they have their dream babies, or all of the amazing people that work for and contribute to Resolve, you will have an army of people to give you as much feedback and support as you need, whenever you need it.
Resolve will provide you with a family of people that will never judge you for the lengths you are going, or not going to have a baby. They will simply listen, provide feedback if you want it and give you all the resources you need to take your journey as far as you wish.
You’ll have people to laugh with, cry with, rant and rave with, and very often, to rejoice with when your persistence pays off and you are holding the child of your dreams.
The old saying ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ has a lot of truth when it comes to infertility.
The quote from Edgar Watson Howe that I began this post with carries a tremendous message: become thankful and take action NOW.
This is especially true for my infertility brothers out there.
You may want to mull this over. Ponder the financial consequences of infertility. Think about getting a second opinion.
Mull it over at a consult with a fertility doctor. Call your insurance company and get the covered and uncovered provisions clearly outlined. Get a second opinion, go to a support group, and read everything you can about what you are about to get into.
Give thanks that the science of infertility exists, and that you have access to a place where you can get all of the information and support you’ll ever need right at your finger tips in the form of Resolve.
Then get to work getting your child.