Becoming a parent is a life changing experience and an emotional roller coaster. For one of our staff the journey to becoming a parent was one of the most challenging periods of her and her husband’s lives.
Tammy Girvan, a senior charge nurse at University Hospital Wishaw, and her husband have experienced the highs and lows of fertility treatment and Tammy has now written about her experience in a new book called ‘Don’t Stop Believing – My Baby Story: the Ups and Downs of Infertility, Miscarriages and Treatments’.
For Tammy and her husband their journey has been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster filled with highs of fragile hope and lows that felt endless.
It has been one of the most challenging periods of their lives and a test of patience, love, and resilience that neither of them was fully prepared for.
Tammy said: “What kept me going, even on the darkest days, was a single belief, that somewhere beyond the heartbreak and uncertainty, there waited a moment when we would hold a child in our arms and know that all of the pain, the waiting and the tears, had been worth it.
“I had seen what infertility could do to people as two of my colleagues had been through it before me, and their stories haunted me. One, unable to bear the weight of disappointment, was prescribed antidepressants just to get through her days. Another turned to codeine for relief, at first to numb the pain, then because she couldn’t stop, and eventually, it cost her the job she once loved.
“Watching their struggles left an imprint on me. It showed me how this silent battle could consume a person from the inside out.
“When it became my turn to face this struggle, I made a promise to myself, I would not let it destroy me. I would not let it unravel my sense of self or fracture the relationships that mattered most. No matter how heavy the burden became, I would fight to protect my peace of mind and my marriage.
“There were days when keeping that promise felt almost impossible. Each new round of treatment brought a fragile flicker of hope, hope that was too often extinguished by another negative result.
“The emotional toll was immense, and the physical exhaustion was real, but I kept going. I reminded myself that strength doesn’t always look like courage, sometimes, it’s simply the act of showing up again, of trying one more time.”
After going through the pain and heartbreak of fertility treatment and three miscarriages Tammy and her husband now have three beautiful boys. However, their journey is something Tammy wanted to share with others who may be going through the same battle.
Tammy’s story is available on Amazon:
