How One Patient Is Finding Hope in the TTC Online Community

We always say that our patient community is filled with extraordinary people doing extraordinary things! Well, we are honored to introduce you to Alana! Alana turned to social media for support while embarking on her fertility journey and found an online community that embraced her and has been lifting her up ever since. Not only has she found support, but Alana has also been documenting her journey and those raw feelings and emotions that often come with the treatment process. In her own words below, Alana shares some things she has learned along the way along with the reminder that you are not alone.

The road by which so many travel to become a family can be a really lonely one. I firmly believe though that it only has to be lonely if you let it. When you’re first thrust into this world it can be paralyzing to say the least. It can feel isolating. It can create fights between partners. It can stop you from bringing your full self to work. It can impact your outlook on the world. That’s why it is so important to build your Fertility Tribe and pack your Virtual MyVitro caddy full of all the right tools.

When I first stumbled upon this community it was out of sheer desperation. I googled “best podcasts for infertility” and I listened to an interview with Blair Nelson at FabFertility and silently hit “Follow” on IG. I watched and watched and finally bought a ticket to a virtual Infertility Conference for patients – Fertility Rally Live.

Through miscarriage, IUIs, OB Triage visits, Covid and now IVF – I’ve called on my Fertility Tribe countless times. I’ve laughed through podcasts that both my husband and I enjoy. I’ve poured my heart out to nearly complete strangers in Instagram direct messages and I’ve received happy mail from some of the greatest women I’ve never even met. This community holds on to hope for me when I don’t see the hope for myself and I love returning that favor for my TTC sisters. They demonstrate hope for the future by living the dream I have when they share the birth of their rainbow. They silently get pumped for a transfer because I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. They breathe fire into my soul.

The magical part I find at RADfertility too is that the community doesn’t stop when I exit my virtual community and step through the door at the clinic – the receptionists have my back when I’m literally going to pee myself before a Mock Transfer. The clinicians have delayed patients to talk me through heart wrenching decisions that OB Triage wasn’t quite prepared to do. The clinical staff at RADfertility is like none other that I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been treated by each of RADfertility’s doctors all with their own quirks but the same underlying, burning desire to make me a mom. I feel blessed to be a patient at a clinic that makes the community something beyond virtual social media walls.

Lastly – I wish that more people would find a good Infertility Therapist. This community is a beautiful thing but it does not make up for professional individualized mental care. You lose so much on this journey and you can truly keep that in check with the help of the right mental health professional.