Let’s Connect – Series 2

LET’S CONNECT – SERIES 2

‘Our stories are unique but our experiences are shared’

We launched #letsconnect across our social media channels to share the voices and experiences of those living and breathing MRKH everyday.

This second series takes on a variable multimedia format and our brave warriors provide extended personal experiences on each topic shared through Series 1.

The Journey Begins – Emily

The Journey Begins – Natalie

The Journey Begins - Natalie

When I turned 15 I started to feel like something may not be right with my body. I didn’t get a diagnosis until I was 19, but in my heart I knew.

I had been to sleep overs with friends and listened to their girl talk over them starting their periods. I had been with my friends when they were in an emergency situation and needed a pad and when they asked me for one, I would be so embarrassed that I would have to decline with “I don’t have anything to help you out”. I went as far as to wear pads, just to see what it felt like. I wanted to be like the other girls. I was embarrassed and so ashamed of my body, and never spoke about it at all.

I would go to bed at night and cry as my mind would wonder with worry. What was wrong with me? Am I ok? If I have no period, does that mean I can’t have babies? I was plagued with anxiety as a teen and it always hit hard when I would lay down at night and my thoughts would escape me. I had a complicated childhood and didn’t live with my parents during this time. I felt very embarrassed to bring this subject up, so I acted like nothing was bothering me on the outside.

No one knew.

I was a 15 yr. old girl who liked to laugh, and have fun. No one knew what haunted my mind. I tucked it deep. The only thing that carried me through this time was God Him self. I attended a Private Christian school growing up. Each month we were required to memorize a portion of scripture. One chapter that I memorized, Psalm 91, I would quote to myself nightly when my thoughts would overtake my mind and I was afraid.

I went in for an MRI, then an ultrasound. I received a phone call shortly after letting me know I was missing my uterus, partial cervix and then informed that I would obviously never carry a child.

I received 1 more phone call letting me know that the doctor needed me to come in and have a Chromosome test done, they were unsure if I was Female. After the news of all this, I lived in a fog and was very depressed. I watched woman with children EVERYWHERE I went, knowing I was going to probably miss out on the very thing I wanted. A family.

I have pushed myself down every single path of MRKH and hope to be able to let others know that they can too.

Natalie, USA

@mymrkhlife

The First Year – Ellamae

The First Year – Elaine

Vagina: The V word – Emily

Vagina: The V word – Aysha

Vagina: The V word – Ellamae

Coping – Vics

Coping – Charlie

Coping – Hasna

Sharing MRKH with others – Elaine

Sharing MRKH with others – Vics

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When motherhood seems impossible – Natalie

When Motherhood Seems Impossible

Child bearing, Woman’s bodies were created for it. As woman we are made to bring these small creatures into the world, and repopulate the earth. But are we?? Not that it’s a woman’s job, but it is a wonderful plus to have.

I had a very rough childhood. By the time I was 18, I had been in 8 homes and was making my way to the next. I wanted to have a house, a home. A place that I would love with my husband and our children. I was determined to make something I didn’t have, and give to my child what I didn’t have.

I was diagnosed with MRKH at the age of 19 and when that diagnosis was giving, every hope and dream seemed to be distorted in my mind.

I took years for me to pull myself up and realign. Motherhood does not only come to one by bearing children. It comes through many different ways. However, the pain of not being able to bear child is always there. You will always wonder how it feels to feel that small kick, or how it feels to give birth. You will want to kick every person in the shin that’s says, “you are so blessed, you don’t have to experience a period or labour”.

My husband and I are raising a cousin of mine. We have had him for 11 yrs. I truly don’t know what I would have done with out him. He was my breath of fresh air when I felt I was drowning in the sorrow of no children. We have wanted to have more children and walked down the road of foster to adopt. Let me just say, this walk did not end well for us and left us with a lot more heart ache than we thought possibly. We applied for the Uterus transplant in Pennsylvania and were selected for consultation. We were not picked but told we would be put on a waiting list for phase 2, IF they did it.

Again, so much heart ache. We immediately came home and did IVF and decided to pursue Surrogacy. We have 4 embryos ready for transfer and about 55% of our funding for Surrogacy.

MRKH is hard. Infertility is hard. Life is hard. There will always be a hard. But at the end of the day you have to decide if you are going to let it defeat you, or if you are going to defeat it. God keeps me balanced. With him, none of these things can defeat me.

If I can tell anyone anything, it would be that you will be ok. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. But if your hope and trust is in God, it will be sooner than later.