It’s been almost a year since we’ve moved to Austin. Our new home should be move-in ready by the middle of October. FINALLY! I’ll post all the pictures and bring you all for a tour in a later post. I promise.

For now, let’s focus on the HOPE.

**Please note that I will not be sharing our previous fertility issues on this page. I am only posting our current situation and the hopeful solution. Focusing on the past is not the way to move forward. If you know our story, please be mindful and respectful of what I choose to share publically.**

So let’s start with why this blog is named “Project: Life.”

I wanted to get my life and health back on track to eventually create a new life for myself, and ultimately start a family. I knew that me being unhealthy wouldn’t lead to any kind of future family, (life) and THAT is ultimately what Hubman and I want. Anyone who knows us knows that this has been our focus for a very long while.

At the end of 2019, Hubman and I had a conversation about our fertility issues. I’ll be the first to admit that I thought for sure once I got to a healthy weight and got some of my health issues under control, we’d plop out a baby or two to finally complete the family that we both so badly wanted.

That didn’t happen. So after constant heartbreak, month after month, we decided to deep dive into our fertility issues.

I saw a doctor in DFW that left me with more questions than answers and entirely too much frustration to even mention. After a few months of blood work, exams, tests, and all kinds of procedures, he didn’t seem to know what was going on so he sent me to a fertility doctor. The fertility doctor there didn’t help much either. Hubman was tested many times before anyone decided to take a true look at me. This doctor determined that it had to be 100% malefactor.

100% malefactor infertility means that the female reproductive system is working fine and the only issues are with the male reproductive system.

He was wrong. More on that in a bit. By this point, it was roughly May 2020 and the whole world was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We did find out at this time that the malefactor was part of the issue that was contributing to our fertility issues so Hubman spent many months researching, taking medications, and doing everything he could to build up his numbers.

By this point, I had been put on the back burner while Keenan took care of what we thought was the only issue. We also found out in July that we would be moving to Austin. Fertility, in general, had officially been moved to the back burner while we found a place to live, packed, moved, and got settled into our temporary rental house.

Once we got settled in, we started looking for doctors; normal doctors, dentists, optometrists, just the things we needed to have since this is our new home. In the process, fertility was brought back to the forefront. I found an AMAZING fertility doctor in Austin that asked more questions and was much more friendly and professional. He was so thourough with everything, never once did we leave an appointment of hang up from a phone call that left us feeling confused or frustrated. After many exams, treatments, and more failed tests, he decided something wasn’t quite right.

He sat down with Hubman and me both and suggested that I have a hysteroscopy. He wanted to get in there and see for himself what was happening, based on everything that we had told him. Based on my pain levels and cycle history, he suspected endometriosis and since he had found that my left tube was blocked during previous procedures and exams, he wanted to try to open it up as well.

Hubman and I trusted him completely. He knew exactly what he was talking about, and we felt confident that the surgery was the right thing to do. Even if it didn’t fix anything else, it could potentially make my monthly cycles much less painful and easier to deal with.

In March 2021, I had a hysteroscopy. While he was in there, he realized that I had extensive endometriosis, twisted tubes, tied up ovaries, and my bladder and uterus were fused. What was supposed to be a quick and simple procedure turned into something much less boring for my doctor. He rebuilt me, and because of this, what was supposed to be a quick 3-day recovery, was more like a month. It didn’t even matter though – I am so glad I had this surgery.

I’ll admit, I was a little upset about having to have the surgery because I didn’t think it was too necessary. However, looking back, it was necessary and I’m so mad at myself for not making this happen 20 years ago. It has truly been life-changing.

Once I recovered and was able to have more testing and procedures, it was determined that my left tube was still blocked. Though my doctor had succeeded in opening it during the surgery, it had collapsed back on itself during the recovery. With our previous treatments having failed, he suggested that we continue with IVF to give us the best shot at carrying a child to term and finally having the family that we both have been aching for.

We’ve since realized that while the malefactor is a small part of our fertility issue, it’s a very small part. Not enough to even matter. So while we are thankful for that part of things, we still have a long journey ahead of us.

Stay tuned to follow our IVF journey.

Until next time, shine bright, my lovelies.