Campaign Story

My name is Kristina. I am a 37 year old Dog Mom of three and Auntie to 2 sweet nephews. I have had hormonal issues from the time my cycle started. I always kind of knew that having children was going to be difficult for me. For this reason, I started trying very young, including taking fertility medications at 20 years old. I had finally given up on the fact that I would have children naturally when I found myself pregnant at 32 years old. I was so excited. Very quickly I knew something was wrong. The next weeks were followed by many blood tests and ultra sounds, but they could not find a baby. They diagnosed a miscarriage only to call me a week later and tell me to come in for emergency surgery. My levels were still rising. My pregnancy was ectopic. This is by far one of the most difficult things I have ever gone through, and I have had my share of tough things. About 4 years ago I found myself divorced and reevaluating my life when I decided to follow my life long dream of selling real estate. I have definitely found my calling and had a blast doing it, but my has the time gone by quickly.
My hormone problems persisted, drastically affecting my quality of life for months at a time and often ending up in the emergency room, very anemic, to see if I needed a blood transfusion. Thankfully, I never had, but each time, I got closer and closer. The last time was close enough for the doctor to take it more seriously. After a myriad of tests, they found precancer cells in my uterus and suggested a hysterectomy. I knew that I would eventually have to have the surgery, but wanted to explore other options first. Ultimately, I opted to try hormone therapy first in hopes that I would be able to have children prior to having the surgery. The hormone therapy wrecked me in a lot of ways, including gaining 50 pounds on my already very overweight body. It took me almost a full year to even start to feel like myself again and right about the time I did, the problems started again. This time the doctor said that I was not a candidate for hormone therapy anymore and my only option was a hysterectomy. It was undeniable that my quality of life would improve drastically, but it was such a high cost.
I had the surgery in November of 2022. After surgery I was informed that I had a pretty severe case of endometriosis that had never been checked for or diagnosed. While I am not exactly happy that I had the surgery, I am grateful for the better life I am able to live and that the uterus that was likely never going to serve the purpose I needed it for is no longer in the way of me having a family the way I believe I was always intended to.
Since surgery my health has improved drastically and I have even finally been able to take a lot of the weight off. This will certainly be a journey that will continue, but I am proud of what I have accomplished so far and looking forward to continuing to create the life that I have always dreamed of and hopefully raising some babies that will do the same.