This is exactly what has happened over the past month.

​We had such an enjoyable time at the EndoWhat event, hosted by Reply OB/GYN & Fertility. It was a reviving moment! A moment to finally get #HerYellowRibbon back up and running! And just like that... life happened!

Coming off of celebrating a successful event, my body chose to do it's own thing. 1 week after the EndoWhat event, there I was, in the doctors office, in excruciating pain! We were all unsure of what could have happened so soon. What began as a quick visit, quickly turned into an in-office procedure. But, timing couldn't have been better. I happened to come into the office on the same day that the Medical Director and the Radiologic Technologist were both available to see me.
The findings? 2 large polyps in my uterus, cysts on my ovaries and a blocked Fallopian tube - all jumping for attention at one time! (Initially, the polyps were mistaken for a large uterine fibroid based on the size and distance.)

After completing the in-office SIS (saline-infusion sonogram) it was determined that I would need surgery, very soon and after 3 years of hiding, my Endometriosis was back!

In December 2015 I suffered the tragic loss of my father, my best friend, my confidant, my inspiration, my hope... my Daddy!

My dad played such a vital role in my life and in this journey with #HerYellowRibbon. I remember the day that I had to quit my job in 2013 and I called my dad in tears because I felt like Endometriosis had finally won - it had taken over my life. After listening to my whine, cry, and yell all sorts of angry thoughts through the phone - his response came like a cool breeze on a summer day. It was so soft but heartfelt. He said "Well babe, what are you going to do about it?" At a time when I could have soaked in misery, he encouraged me to stop, take a deep breath, and find a solution! Thus, #HerYellowRibbon was born!

I remember calling him back a few days later and telling him about this crazy idea I had to start an organization that would promote awareness of this condition, so that other women wouldn't have to suffer as badly as I did. He LOVED the idea and told me that he would support me - and that he did. My dad was the first to purchase a t-shirt from our launching fundraiser, he donated money to support, shared the news throughout our local community about what I was doing and always told people how PROUD he was of his "baby-girl" for hitting this thing where it hurts!

When I first lost my dad, I felt lost &  incomplete. Here I was coming off of 8 months of helping my mother through breast cancer and suddenly my dad gets sick and passes away. Of course, my first thought was to "take a break!" - and that is what I did. I left #HerYellowRibbon in the dark - I couldn't face trying to encourage others when I was broken. It wasn't as easy as it was back in 2013.

So... after a long break, I finally decided that it was time to get back to what I love - ADVOCATING! #HerYellowRibbon was a project that my dad loved and if he were here today, he would encourage me to get back in action!

Daddy - I'm doing this for you!
The 2017 (long awaited) return of #HerYellowRibbon is here!
I can't wait to share all of my news, updates, information and experiences with you all!
​Stay Tuned!

Even though it was a long process for her to conceive, in the end, the process was a blessing in many ways...
The weariness, the rejection, and the shame that come attached to the season of infertility can be turned around.
God Hears. | God Cares. | Infertility is not too hard for God!
​#SeedOfHope #infertility #fertility #napro#naprotechnology #heryellowribbon#heartoftabithafoundation #heartoftabitha#endometriosis #pcos #endometriosisawareness#pcosawareness #ttc #femara #hcg #hcgshots#metformin

I searched the internet for Dr. Christine Cimo-Hemphill. The doctor recommendation from Abbey led me to Commonwealth Fertility & Women's Health  in Richmond, VA.

I'll be the first to admit that I was far from thrilled to visit a doctor that was 2 hours away, but it had to be better than going to someone in NC who would just tell me that my symptoms were "all in my head!"

I called Commonwealth Fertility & I was able to book an appointment, almost immediately! (That was a first!)
We traveled all the way to Richmond from Raleigh for my first appointment; since Dr. Hemphill was the surgeon of the clinic, I became Dr. Zackrisson's new patient. Dr. Z was... AMAZING! My first visit with her was 2 hours long! She asked me questions about my GYN history and listened to all 100 of my stories about my journey with Endo. She explained that at CFWH they specialize in a technique called "NaProTechnology - Natural Procreative Technology."

"Nap-What?" - Unlike many other doctors, from my past, Dr. Z explained NaPro and gave me a plethora of information about it.

What is NaPro?
"NaProTechnology is a new women's health science that monitors and maintains a woman's reproductive and gynecological health. It provides medical and surgical treatments that cooperate completely with the reproductive system." - NaProTechnology

But, you can't have good without the "not-so-good" ... She told me that I would have to have several tests done, undergo another Laproscopic procedure, and possibly have my ovaries re-constructed.

It just so happened that the pain that led me to her was the result of an ovarian cyst that had ruptured and was infecting my body. Really?!?  The first thing that came to mind was the fact that we could not afford surgery. Noticing the change in my mood, Dr. Z asked "what's wrong? That should be good news right?" I explained to her, my financial battle, and told her about my GoFundMe page. She smiled and said, let me check on it for you. She walked out and returned in minutes with a huge smile on her face. "Your insurance should cover a large portion of it!" I was thrilled!

She said that with NaPro and the surgical work of Dr. Hemphill, I should be back on the right track!

For the first time in years, I walked away full of excitement about my upcoming journey! Dr. Z &  Dr. Hemphill were exactly what I prayed for!

Summer 2014! My husband was completing his last semester of school and I was 6 months into an awesome new job, doing marketing for a major mall management company.

With all of these good things happening, nothing seemed to stop my Endometriosis from getting in the way of my happiness. I was in pain, again, and everyone knew it. My luck had just about run out with finding someone in North Carolina to help me with my Endometriosis battle. I was next in line to spend a couple of thousand dollars for the procedure of a lifetime. Lord knows my family and I did not have the money to make it happen; yet, my “always supportive” mother convinced that she could max out her credit cards to cover the medical procedures, with hopes that we could get on some type of payment plan through the credit card company. “Do we really want to live like this?” “Is this procedure worth it?” “Is the pain that bad?”
 
By now I started to re-evaluate everything. So much was on the line. I decided to create a GoFundMe page, something I had seen many others do to help them raise money for emergency expenses. Immediately, the funds started pouring in from family, friends, co-workers, church members… even our hometown newspaper wrote an article about it, which led to more donations. We managed to raise over $2,000, which was great, but sadly, not enough. I started to pray. I knew that if I prayed, the Lord would work this situation out for the best.
 
A few days later I received a Facebook message from a dear friend of mine, Abbey. The message was something similar to: