She then detailed her journey. “We were trying, I had to have surgery to correct a problem, got an infection, then I was so run down I got shingles,” she added. “My doctor advised us to try IVF. We just finished the intense process only to get zero healthy embryos. Not only is IVF physically exhausting, the emotional toll is unparalleled. We were filled with hope and excitement only to be crushed.”
Lee also noted “it is really hard to put on a happy face.”
“Fertility issues are supposed to be private so many of us are silently in pain,” she wrote. “I hesitated to share this but I feel comfort when I hear others’ stories and I hope any of you in a similar situation know you are not alone. When people ask me when I’m getting pregnant, it hurts. It’s just a reminder that I’m not. When they say I look like I’ve gained weight, I have. I can’t exercise as much and the hormones have made me bloated. At church on Easter, the priest started his sermon with a story about a family struggling to have a baby and the happiness they are now experiencing that their prayers have been answered. He said it is a time of new beginnings. Tears streamed down my face.”
Near the end of the post, she expressed her hopes for the future. “I know a family will happen for us, it is just going to be a different journey than we imagined,” she concluded. “We will keep working towards it. Someday we will have our happy new beginning and I pray any of you experiencing the same will have yours too.”