My Infertility Superhero is Sheri, my sister-in-law. Her story has been incredibly inspirational to me. She is married to my husband's brother, Brian. They tied the knot on April 17, 2004. Her doctors had given her an indication that if they wanted children, they should start trying sooner rather than later.
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| Married 2004 |
They had their fair share of struggles with Infertility.
She tried Clomid, Femara, Injects, 6 IUIs, 3 IVFs, and 2 FETs. She had multiple HSGs, SISs, and numerous surgeries. She also started her journey at UAB and ended up at ART at Brookwood. (After our issues with UAB, we chose to move to ART because they had given us our nephew, and Sheri spoke so highly of them.)
On her 3rd IVF attempt, she got pregnant with our nephew, Bryson.
He is almost 3 years old now. =)
God is so good! He does
provide!
They had two remaining frozen embryos and did a transfer this past August, but she miscarried at 5 weeks 2 days. From her first beta, the numbers were low and she remained in "beta hell" for over a week. She would have been due this week.
Even though she experienced this
loss, she stayed so strong and positive.
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| Christmas 2009 |
Sheri is diagnosed as having
"unexplained infertility" and now secondary infertility. When I
first met her, they were already well into their journey of trying to conceive.
It was hard for me to understand what she was going through. I
would just listen. Most of the time, I ended up having to look up things
on google because I didn't understand all of the procedures she was talking
about. I remember when the 2nd IVF attempt failed. I was upset for
her but didn't know what to say. When she told me how much she longed for
a child, I didn't understand. Even though her desire for a child was
strong, she remained so positive to those around her.
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| Football Season 2010 |
When we decided to start trying, she was the first person I told. She told me all about
Fertility Friend. I don't think she even thought we'd have this much trouble getting pregnant! My journey would have been so different without her. I would be lost. I would be mad. I would be depressed.
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| Football Season 2011 |
I have been lucky to be able to
share my journey with her. Many women go through this alone. She
has held my hand each and every step of the way. She and I have dissected
my charts, obsessed over symptoms, and cried many tears together.
Our friendship has grown. I can't go more than a few days without
talking to her. I wouldn't have been able to make it this far in the
journey without her. She has carried me. She has prayed for
me. She has been one of the few people that I talk to on a regular basis
that truly knows how I'm feeling. God puts people in our lives for a
reason. Sometimes I wonder if I married Brandon just to have Sheri as my
sister (kidding, love you Brandon!).
Not
every hero wears a mask.
