I took this class in college that went
towards my Early Childhood Education degree that was called, ‘The Exceptional
Child’. This class was about children with special needs and taught inclusion
in the classroom. We had this wonderful woman in one day to speak to us about
the challenges her son with Down Syndrome goes through and how to incorporate
his challenges within the classroom for him to be successful. She started the discussion
with a letter she had written, it was called, ‘My Trip to Holland’. The synopsis
of the letter was how she planned her trip to Paris (TTC), prepared for fabulous
Paris by packing and boarding the plane (Pregnancy), but upon arrival, realized
that she was in fact in Holland. Not quite her destination or what she had
planned on, but still was an amazing journey that changed her life. A truly inspirational
story that really helped me this week and was weighing heavily on my heart.
I went last Thursday for my very invasive test, which is also known as an HSG. It is a test to see if my fallopian tubes were blocked, and if they were, it would unblock it and hopefully allow me to be successful in TTC or an IUI. I went in at 7:30am for the test. I will say, this test was far more painful than expected. Thankfully, it only lasted about 6 minutes. I finished up and headed back to work. I got a call about an hour later from my doctor who wanted me to go to her office so she could personally re-run the test as she saw an abnormality and wanted to check it herself. She sacrificed her lunch hour to get me in, so I nervously agreed. As I laid on the table going through another round of intense pain, my mind was racing with all of the possibilities this abnormality could be, and wondered if I could in fact get pregnant. After the exam, we headed to her office and she told me her findings. I was diagnosed with a Unicornuate Uterus. It is a rare uterine abnormality that happens in about 3% of the population. Essentially, as I was forming in the womb, my uterus never grew together like normal babies, it instead stayed as one and the other never formed. I have half a uterus and one fallopian tube. I do however, have two functioning ovaries, and a normal looking cervix. I also found out that it is typical for people with UU to have only one kidney, which I will get a scan of to confirm if this is the case. Along with all of this, I also found out I have a mass in my cervix and will need a Hysteroscopy to get it removed, as it is probably blocking anything from implanting. So what does this mean for conceiving? Actually, nothing. I can still conceive, it will just be a bit harder as I only have one tube and will have to time it with precise monitoring. I am also still able to go for an IUI which should help a ton! The concern now is what happens after I conceive. My chances of miscarriage are about the same as any other woman in early pregnancy, however, it increases as I get further into my pregnancy as I only have half the space for the fetus to grow. I would have to see a high-risk OBGYN to monitor me through the 2nd and 3rd trimester. I was at a loss for words and completely shocked at this news. Never in my life did I think that I could have such an abnormality. This news gave me perspective into the reasoning why I was having a hard time getting pregnant, and helped me reach the conclusion that I need to find another OBGYN. My RE is absolutely incredible and treats me not like a patient, but a friend. She tells me like it is, is truly concerned for me, and takes the time to thoroughly test and to listen/talk to me about my concerns. I am so angry at the time and energy wasted on my current OBGYN. I now know what a good doctor looks like!
My life has now completely changed. I had just arrived in Holland. While I am still able to get pregnant, we have now been re-routed to a different path with a whole new set of obstacles. Would I change anything if I could? No. While it is a lot to take in, and now I feel more like a Frankenstein creature than ever before, I count myself lucky that it wasn’t anything more sever. I am still able to get pregnant, and there are a multitude of women out there who have my condition and go on to have multiple successful pregnancies and deliveries. I am feeling confident and hopeful. This may not be as easy as I thought it would be, I am ready for the challenge! I still thank God every day for the many blessing bestowed upon my life, and I know, in my heart, he will give me the desires of my heart! I just have to be patient and enjoy the ride!
I went last Thursday for my very invasive test, which is also known as an HSG. It is a test to see if my fallopian tubes were blocked, and if they were, it would unblock it and hopefully allow me to be successful in TTC or an IUI. I went in at 7:30am for the test. I will say, this test was far more painful than expected. Thankfully, it only lasted about 6 minutes. I finished up and headed back to work. I got a call about an hour later from my doctor who wanted me to go to her office so she could personally re-run the test as she saw an abnormality and wanted to check it herself. She sacrificed her lunch hour to get me in, so I nervously agreed. As I laid on the table going through another round of intense pain, my mind was racing with all of the possibilities this abnormality could be, and wondered if I could in fact get pregnant. After the exam, we headed to her office and she told me her findings. I was diagnosed with a Unicornuate Uterus. It is a rare uterine abnormality that happens in about 3% of the population. Essentially, as I was forming in the womb, my uterus never grew together like normal babies, it instead stayed as one and the other never formed. I have half a uterus and one fallopian tube. I do however, have two functioning ovaries, and a normal looking cervix. I also found out that it is typical for people with UU to have only one kidney, which I will get a scan of to confirm if this is the case. Along with all of this, I also found out I have a mass in my cervix and will need a Hysteroscopy to get it removed, as it is probably blocking anything from implanting. So what does this mean for conceiving? Actually, nothing. I can still conceive, it will just be a bit harder as I only have one tube and will have to time it with precise monitoring. I am also still able to go for an IUI which should help a ton! The concern now is what happens after I conceive. My chances of miscarriage are about the same as any other woman in early pregnancy, however, it increases as I get further into my pregnancy as I only have half the space for the fetus to grow. I would have to see a high-risk OBGYN to monitor me through the 2nd and 3rd trimester. I was at a loss for words and completely shocked at this news. Never in my life did I think that I could have such an abnormality. This news gave me perspective into the reasoning why I was having a hard time getting pregnant, and helped me reach the conclusion that I need to find another OBGYN. My RE is absolutely incredible and treats me not like a patient, but a friend. She tells me like it is, is truly concerned for me, and takes the time to thoroughly test and to listen/talk to me about my concerns. I am so angry at the time and energy wasted on my current OBGYN. I now know what a good doctor looks like!
My life has now completely changed. I had just arrived in Holland. While I am still able to get pregnant, we have now been re-routed to a different path with a whole new set of obstacles. Would I change anything if I could? No. While it is a lot to take in, and now I feel more like a Frankenstein creature than ever before, I count myself lucky that it wasn’t anything more sever. I am still able to get pregnant, and there are a multitude of women out there who have my condition and go on to have multiple successful pregnancies and deliveries. I am feeling confident and hopeful. This may not be as easy as I thought it would be, I am ready for the challenge! I still thank God every day for the many blessing bestowed upon my life, and I know, in my heart, he will give me the desires of my heart! I just have to be patient and enjoy the ride!
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