By Rick E. Hale
Paranormal Underground Magazine Writer
Paranormal Investigator

We oftentimes hear that in life there are no guarantees of the hand we are dealt. Good things don’t necessarily happen to you just because you may be a good person who treats others with dignity and respect. All too often we hear how the bad guys get away with whatever dastardly deed they committed due to a technicality in the law. Or, as we see on reality television, it seems that the villain gets all the glory while the person who works hard and does what is right has to sit back in the corner and eat a nice big steaming shit sandwich served for one.

It would appear that fate can be a cruel bitch and will take no prisoners. You may be wondering where I am going with this . . . does this have anything to do with aliens, monsters, or ghosts? No, this is an autobiography of sorts of mine and my wife’s walk down the long hard road to parenthood.

Jamie, my wife, and I have been desperately attempting for the last seven of our eight years of marriage to start a family of our own. The two of us have a drive to be the best possible parents that we can be. Jamie comes from a good loving family that truly enjoys being together and has a good time doing it. Me, not so much.

Rick Sr., my biological father, was a full on shithead that left his wife and kids in the dirt many years ago. So, basically, I guess you could say, I have something to prove. But as fate would have it, it almost seems that due to a serious women’s health issue that hardly gets any attention, the Mrs. and I would be denied that joy. For a time.

After spending almost a year of trying to do things “the old fashioned way,” it just was not working. Time and time again and after countless pregnancy tests, Jamie went to see her physician and find out what the problem could possibly be. After a battery of tests and a difficult exam, Jamie was diagnosed with PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome, a very serious fertility issue. PCOS, as it is called, sounds just like it’s name. Over time, numerous cysts build up on the ovaries and eventually chokes the life out of them, making it impossible to release an egg. If we wanted to have children of our own, we would have to pay daily visits to a fertility clinic and Jamie would have to subject herself to science and medication that borders on the weird. However, there was hope on the horizon, but that shining sun would seem like a small speck almost impossible to see.

This hope that we were given was in fertility treatments that seemed almost sadistic to the casual observer. For the last seven years, Jamie has pumped so many fertility drugs into her system I am terrified that someday I may lose her to breast or uterine cancer. However, being the strong woman she is, she soldiered on, despite my reluctance.

After nine failed cycles of artificial insemination, we were getting ready to throw in the towel and seriously consider adoption. Jamie and I are very open-minded people and would have no problem bringing someone of a different color or ethnicity into our families, and if somebody didn’t like it, they could piss the fuck right off. However, soon, we were told that there was another option. Invetro Fertilization. The evil mad science was about to get madder.

Yesterday, my wife came home early from work, I work nights, and woke me up out of dead sleep. She had the best news I could ever possible want to hear. After two failed cycles of IVF, the third time was the charm; we are going to be able to finally start a family of our own. Jamie is pregnant. Finally this stretch of the long hard road has come to an end.

I share this with you because I truly do care about you, the reader. Issues of infertility can be unbelievably heart rending for both spouses. All too often these issues drive an otherwise happy marriage to the brink of disaster. Many times, couples who experience these kinds of issues in their marraige end up in divorce. However, with Jamie and I, it brought us closer together, and I know it sounds corny, but we did hope for the best.

PCOS is a heartbreaker, and it should be given the attention it deserves because this condition appears to be on the rise and can cause far more serious health issues, such as diabetes and ovarian cancer. After learning of my wife’s pregnancy yesterday, it has renewed my faith in a belief that I once had, more often than not the guy in the white hat rides off into the sunset. Victorious. Thank you.