Happily able to get pregnant

by Deidre le Roux
(Durban, KZN, South Africa)

Managed to fall pregnant despite having endometriosis .....

I was in matric, a young energetic 17 year old girl with big dreams of being a MOM and having my own family. This all came crashing down when I became very weak and fragile.

After 6 months of being in and out of hospital, numerous different illness' I was diagnosed with EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) aka Post Fatigue Syndrome.

I finally had an answer; no medication and no cure. As per many doctors and people living with EBV I would forever be bedridden and never be able to fulfill a normal life. I was heart sore.

I slept my life away because I had been told my ultimatum was to do nothing. I was told I would never survive child birth because I would forever be weak.

I met my husband in 2002, the turning point in my life. He gave me a reason to get out of bed and live; listen to myself not to everyone else.

Every day he pushed me a little more and little more. If I felt the need to sleep, then sleep but don't sleep because you are told to or because you think that is all you are "capable of".

We were married in 2004, I so desperately wanted a child. A child to mark this love I had found where I had given up hope but the years went by and nothing happened.

I have to admit I was silly because I never went to a gynae to establish the reason, in the back of my mind I could still hear the doctor tell me if I have children that I would die. I couldn't go through another doctor telling me the same thing, I was to scared.

In April 2008, after 4 years of no child I gave up and accepted that adoption was the only solution. In May 2008; I will never forget this feeling I had in the pit of my stomach; I was pregnant; I just knew it.

I phoned my husband and he said well go to the doctor now. I went and the test said negative. I can never explain but I was adamant so the doctor said I needed to come back in a weeks time. I went back exactly one week later, positive test. I was over the moon with happiness, 8 weeks pregnant.

The pregnancy was difficult I was in and out of hospital. As the days grew nearer to the birth I was worried but excited. Would I make it? Would I be able to carry on afterwards?

My darling Joshua was born as healthy as an ox. I came out doing well. I was filled with so much joy for this beautiful creation I had built from scratch.

Six weeks went by and I went for my checkup, my gynae said everything was looking good and I was on my way to a full recovery. I still wonder to this day if he was scanning the right place because 3 months later I went to a different gynae because I was still struggling immensely to come to terms with my body post birth. Ridiculously painful periods that lasted two weeks at a time.

This new gynae diagnosed endometriosis before he had even scanned me and scheduled a laparoscopy the following Wednesday.

When I met with him after the operation for my checkup he showed me the photos and was absolutely shocked to hear I had even fallen pregnant considering the stage of my endometriosis. He was flabergasted that this was not picked up earlier.

It has been nearly 3 years since the op and I went in last week for another laparoscopy but this time due to cysts rupturing.

I have not been fortunate enough to fall pregnant again but this time around it has been more to not trying due to our current economic situation. But I can say one thing after my scare last week and second operation I am now going to persevere and study this like the back of my hand because I believe I can have another child.

Your website above is so thorough and has broaden my knowledge and I would like to say thank you to you for this information.