My story, my truth, my passion
Many years ago, I sat in a corner at my nephew’s first birthday party with a fake smile plastered on my face as kids buzzed by me and a sing along was taking place. What should have been a fun and happy occasion was a reminder to me that it was exactly one year since my husband and I had been trying to get pregnant. For most, this wouldn’t have been a big deal, but as a physician, I knew that if we were unsuccessful after one year of trying, it meant the dreaded diagnosis of “infertility.”
Unfortunately, the “what if” scenarios quickly filled my mind and my anxiety and sadness overtook my ability to be rational about our situation. From my medical training, I knew there could potentially be a gazillion blood tests, scans and injection medications ahead of us. I was completely paralyzed at the thought of it. To make things worse, both my husband and I were working 80 hours a week. How and when would we find the time to figure this all out?
Our journey to parenthood certainly took a lot longer than I had hoped for. Between finding the right reproductive endocrinologist (we saw about 4 docs) and researching what our best treatment options were it was incredibly overwhelming, time consuming, and emotionally exhausting. Each month it seemed like I was just throwing my money away and trying something different from changing my diet, to purchasing random supplements and fertility herbs, to having expensive consultations with doctors across the country. As I read through blogs and forums on infertility, it was clear to me that many others were just as confused as I was.
Looking back, I would have given anything to have a trusted source provide me with both the much-needed emotional support AND an unbiased idea of ALL of the potential treatment options for us (i.e. what types of things actually work?) A guide who could save me the time and effort of sifting through all of the information we received from our doctors, alternative healthcare providers, and of course Dr. Google. But no one was doing this type of work. And thus, the idea of "The Fertility Advisor” was born. I quickly realized that I had the skillset to be that person for others – with the combination of my medical background and all of the extensive research I had done from my personal experience, I could help clients efficiently access, comprehend and process all of the relevant information they would need to tackle their fertility challenges.
The more I talked to friends and family about my idea of becoming a fertility advisor, the more excited I got. At the time, I was also facing a turning point in my career. I was unfulfilled and unhappy in medicine and that lack of satisfaction was something I needed to address. With all of the stress and constraints of practicing medicine, I never really had the time to connect with my patients in a way that I deeply desired. So after much thought and careful consideration, I took the plunge and launched The Fertility Advisor.
Becoming The Fertility Advisor has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Guiding professional women just like myself who generally have it all together but know they need additional support, and educating them with proven step-by-step strategies to surmount the obstacles of starting a family, is one of my greatest achievements. It fulfills me to my core to be able to provide unconditional compassion and support to those who are going through this journey that I had to struggle with on my own. There is no doubt that infertility is isolating. But by partnering with me, we get you where you need to go together, faster, and with less stress and heartache.
