This infertility post is a tribute of sorts to my friend
Alicia. My admiration for her is immense for so many reasons.
The week before last I had the pleasure of meeting up with
Alicia for lunch! As some of you are aware, Alicia (aka Yaya) and I are real life friends in addition to being blogging friends. Alicia has struggled with infertility and miscarriages; she and her husband are immersed in the foster-to-adopt process at this time.
As Alicia never leaves home without her camera, she took the picture above of us as we were saying our goodbyes at the restaurant. It was so nice to see her in person. Alicia is the type of person who literally lights up a room.
Moving onto the topic of this post, infertility. We are heading into what may arguably be the most challenging weekend of the year for infertile women. Father's Day will be shortly behind it, of course (and it too can be a very stressful time).
Recently Alicia posted an excellent article on her blog regarding Mother's and Father's Day. She posted information from
RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association.
I am going to post that same RESOLVE letter here but would like to first link to the post that brought it to my attention from Alicia's blog:
Yaya Stuff.
I would like to print the RESOLVE letter here as well but first I wanted to include a picture of Alicia and her husband, Josh, who have been through such an emotional rollercoaster with infertility and miscarriages.
Sometimes I think it can be too easy to read a book, blog, or magazine about infertility and not really begin to comprehend it without having experienced it firsthand. I think it's important for people to see real faces of real people who struggle with this real condition. Josh and Alicia have been through great adversity. I admire their strength, courage, and determination in navigating this complex and grueling process!
At this point, I'll post the RESOLVE letter that Alicia shared with her readers:
As Alicia put it:"So while the following letter written by RESOLVE is intended for the clergy, it is actually helpful for people in all realms of life to realize what we endure on Mother's and Father's Day".Here is RESOLVE's letter---
Dear Member of the Clergy,
As you prepare your Mother's Day and Father's Day religious messages this year, please consider that 1 in 8 couples of childbearing age are struggling with infertility. These particular holidays are two of the most painful days for those struggling to have children.
Although this condition is rarely physically life threatening, it can be devastating to a person's sense of hope. Couples often endure monthly cycles of emotional roller coaster rides, ranging from optimism to despair and depression. Infertility sometimes lasts for years and people often go through this experience in isolation, as their desire for a larger family remains unfulfilled.
Many religious and social events revolve around children, and couples without them may feel uncomfortable or left out of activities altogether. Because the topic of infertility involves reproduction, it is an extremely personal problem that couples face. For this reason, it is often a very difficult topic to discuss, even with a trusted rabbi, priest or pastor.
As you prepare for the upcoming holidays, please remember the couples in your congregation that have infertility. Infertility is the inability to conceive a child after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. Infertility is also the inability to carry a pregnancy to term, so persons who have had a miscarriage or who have lost a child by stillbirth struggle with this condition too.
We ask that you keep these points in mind, particularly during worship services, and that you remember couples with infertility in your prayers as you honor all the mothers and fathers in your congregation.
If you would like more information about infertility, please visit the RESOLVE website at www.resolve.org.
Thank you, in advance for your consideration in this matter,
Sincerely,
Your nameFor more information from RESOLVE, check out this link:
RESOLVE's Infertility 101Finally, I'd like to end by thanking my friend Alicia for... being Alicia.
She is kind, caring, incredibly thoughtful, sweet, smart, funny and I am privileged to call her my friend.
I just had to include this picture of Alicia's new haircut because it looked so cute on her blog that I had to post it here as well.
In true Alicia fashion (and for no particular reason at all), Alicia showed up for our lunch date with something for me for no particular reason. This is just classic Alicia... always so thoughtful! She gave me a "wish token".
I am including two pictures here to close out this post. One is a picture of the front of the package it came in and the other is a picture of the back of the token.
This is quintessential Alicia... sharing messages of hope with others. From her unbelievably popular blog to her social network site (the Mommy Wannabe Club), to all of the people she supports through infertility and miscarriage "offline", to her support of fundraisers for organizations such as
Parenthood For Me, Alicia helps countless people. As she and Josh go through the adoption process, she is expanding the number of people she is able to help through her blog.
Readers, if you are infertile and apprehensive about this upcoming weekend... try to seek out support from people you love and trust to get through this challenging time of year.
For other readers who are fortunate enough not to struggle with infertility, please be aware that this weekend will be painful and sad for many. Do what you can to support someone you know through this difficult time.
Finally, I would like to thank my friend Alicia for enlightening so many people. Thank goodness Alicia and I met through our local endometriosis support group. Quite honestly, it's hard to remember "life before Alicia". She's that special!
My thoughts will be with Alicia, Josh, and other infertile couples this weekend.
This article was posted by Jeanne via "Jeanne's Endo Blog" at www.endendoat.blogspot.com.
