It All Came Together

I was 17 years old when doctors told me I wouldn't be able to bear children.

When I heard that news, it really didn't affect me at the time. I believe it was because of my lack of understanding. Truth be told, I was a kid, and conceiving children was something that wasn't on my mind.

My priorities as a child did not include having children

I was more worried about whether I would be okay from the heart condition I had. Having hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as a teenager, trying to navigate through life and fit in with the other kids was a challenge in itself because the truth was, I didn't fit in. I couldn't keep up mentally or physically. I was always tired and had no desire for fun things in life.

At that time in my life, because I felt I didn't fit in, I decided to disguise myself. Meaning I may have been sick and didn't feel full of energy like my peers, but who said I couldn't look like them? If I could look normal in my appearance, maybe I'd make everyone think I was just like them health-wise.

My life consisted of school, doctors, and home. Then the day came when I graduated high school, and now school was out. It was just home and doctors, I thought that was it for me. No kids, no marriage, no fun, etc.

An increasing desire to have a family

Until it became a reality and as I entered into a relationship and realized I wanted kids, I wanted a family. My mother always encouraged me to keep the faith and God would allow me to have children one day. I always had courage and believed in myself. I knew that if I put my mind to something, I could do it. That's when I became pregnant with my son back in 2015 while dealing with heart failure.

My courage and faith worked, and I birthed a baby boy into this world. For me, that was my biggest accomplishment until he ended up passing away a month later. Talk about faith going low and all the questions of why? Why did that happen? Why didn't it work out for me like I wanted it to? So many questions.

Overcoming infertility with heart failure

In 2016 I received a heart transplant and everything began to look bright for me. I was the healthiest I have ever been since I could remember. Which brings me to today and what encouraged this article. I was privileged to speak at a black history month program (rolling out the red carpet), and there I was able to tell my story and introduce to everyone my beautiful, courageous, strong, and amazing daughter.

In 2021 I became pregnant with my daughter, and my pregnancy was great. Of course that fear came due to my previous trauma and at times it blocked me being happy and excited because I was always worried that something bad would happen and nothing good could happen for me until It did and I'm forever grateful to God for blessing me with my daughter. We just recently celebrated her 1st birthday.

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