I Am Also A Woman

This is me! In all my glory, in my happy place where all my worries disappear, and I am just me. There are no labels here, no doubts. I do not bear a mark on my forehead that says I am infertile. I am a complete woman enjoying her life to the fullest. 
A big lesson that I have learnt and made part of my being is that it is important to share our stories to help ourselves heal while educating others. Too often, mistakenly indeed, I have stayed silent in my shame, perpetuating lies in my head, thinking that keeping quiet is a sign of strength. I have since realised that I was wrong.
Sharing my life story helps me to feel better. It teaches others my perspective and proves to me that I am not alone. There are others who will quietly whisper – "Me too" – and that is okay! It is a personal decision to choose who deserves to hear your story. You can choose to share, or not. It is your choice and no one else's.
I decided to write this book based on my life story. I have decided to come out of the proverbial closet. It takes courage to remove one's armour than to assemble it. I wanted to express myself and pour my heart out without interruption, hence my decision to write this book. 
I believe that by doing this, I will be able to reach out to a lot of people going through the same reality as mine; women who bore the brunt from the same syndrome but are not ready to open up. I feel that opening up your wounds helps in healing. Living in a cocoon and covering up our wounds will not heal them. 
In this book I will share my life story; what I went through until the day I made the bold decision to talk about my condition. I must say this journey of infertility is so draining at times, but I have learnt not to let my crown fall. I am also a woman. Infertility, according to MedlinePlus, means not being able to get pregnant after at least one year of trying (or six months if the woman is over the age of 35). 
My infertility is a result of the rare condition – Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Syndrome – which is a disorder that occurs in females and affects mainly the re-productive system. 
The condition causes the vagina and uterus to be under-developed or absent, although the external genitalia are normal. It starts during foetal development and there is nothing the mother can do to prevent it from affecting the unborn child. It is no one's fault. 
It is unfortunate that many women only find out that they have the syndrome at a late stage of their lives. They discover the syndrome when they have reached puberty. This happens when they do not menstruate.
Research has at times recommended surgical reconstruction of the vagina using skin grafts, but there is a challenge. This could be helpful when the condition is detected in a child's early stage of life, but nothing triggers the need for such a solution. By the time the condition is discovered, it is often already too late. 
But there is still another problem: would surgical reconstruction mend the inner feeling of loss? Would it heal the emotional wounds of such a discovery?
I chose to share my story so that I encourage fellow women going through the same situation. Sharing our stories could help us overcome the insecurities and problems that life has cast upon us. I want women with the same condition to understand that they are not alone in this predicament. All that glitters is not gold but aren't diamonds made out of coal? We only live once and happiness abounds even for women who are deemed unfortunate and incomplete by an uninformed eye.
In life, everyone goes through their own battles. Everyone has a story to tell. I just hope my story will help women with the same condition as I have to heal. I want my sisters out there to know that they are not alone in this battle.