Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand
Psalm 127: 3 & 4
When I heard yesterday that the daytime program, The View, aired on ABC at 11:00 a.m. every morning was dedicating their entire program today to infertility, I was so excited. Yes, I have conquered infertility, but I was still thrilled to hear this and the reason for this is, for the decade plus that I struggled with infertility, I always wondered why no forums were dedicated to this condition. Why no television programs ever aired anything of this kind. I was soon forced to believe that, it was because infertility was such a private and personal issue that people kept it to themselves and therefore it never became necessary to have such programs.
What I found out when my infertility finally was made public, was that so many persons had suffered or are struggling with this condition and sadly, for most of my decade long struggle, I suffered alone because I did not come across anyone with whom I could identify. It was only towards the end of my struggles that I found two such persons, and it made such a big difference, because I knew then that I was certainly not alone. After I started this blog, a year ago, a whole world of persons struggling with infertility suddenly opened up to me and I so wished that I had tapped into this when I was struggling.
I also found out on today’s program on The View, that most of the hosts had some struggles with infertility. Barbara Walters, owner of the show, had three miscarriages and adopted her daughter after the third. Another host almost died from an ectopic pregnancy and another did treatments, including Invitro-Fertilization and now has a son, and yet another for a short while, struggled with infertility caused by Celiac Disease, (a condition which result, after eating products containing gluten) http://health.yahoo.com/digestive-symptoms/celiac-disease-symptoms/healthwise--hw192337.html. This brought home to me in no uncertain manner, how different we are on the outside, but how similarly we struggle inside.
Among their guests was Bill and Guilliana Rancic, (formerly Guilliana DiPandi), who has their own show, ‘Bill and Guilliana’ which airs on the style network. They were invited to share their struggles with infertility caused by a condition where Guilliana’s uterus is pushed to the side. Her doctor said he had never seen anything like this before. I attempted to do some research on this, thinking that anything could be found on the internet, but found nothing.
It struck me how this couple and others who were guests on the show spoke so comfortably and easily about their infertility and I felt at peace, because infertility is finally getting the attention it deserves. So many of us suffer emotionally with this condition and dared not to talk about it for fear that we would be judged or made to feel that we were less than.
I want to give a big thumbs up to ABC and Miss Walters. So many must be grateful to you, (I know I am) for carrying this program. We have indeed come such a long way. Infertility does not have to be a secret that we hold on to for dear life any longer, as there is a whole world out there of people who struggle in this regard who are offering support to countless others and it is amazing to see how many are being helped and you just made that world even bigger.
Be encouraged therefore, and until next time, keep clinging to hope.
