Welcome to our Adopted Life. We have been going through the process of trying to create our family since July 2009. We married in 2006 and always knew we wanted children. After taking time for ourselves and traveling around the world, we moved back home to live closer to our family and begin creating our own.
After trying to conceive naturally for five months, we went to a fertility clinic to be tested. We ran the basic blood work and sperm analysis. Expecting to be in a testing and diagnosis phase for several months, we received news in our first follow-up appointment two weeks later that would change our lives forever. DH was sterile. He has azoospermia, in which he produces no sperm due to a congenital condition known as Sertoli-cell-only syndrome.
Our journey instantaneously changed from a battle of infertility that could lead to a biological child to a journey of male sterility and a complete redefinition of what the word family means. Over the past year we underwent six unsuccessful IUI's with donor sperm and have now moved into adoption. For us, adoption was always part of our plan to create a family, and we even spoke about it before we were married. However, we never knew that it would come this fast and under these circumstances.
This past year has been a life-altering time for us. We have been alone for much of this journey and decided it was time to share our story. Compared to female infertility, there is not a lot of information and support for couples and men going through male sterility. We hope this blog will help all couples and individuals as they go through their own personal journey to create a family, whether you are at the beginning, in the middle, or reached the end. The blog will mostly focus on our life as we navigate adoption, but infertility and sterility stay with you forever, so you will see that as well.
We are writing a separate memoir on the journey and battles we went through in the year-long process of learning, coming to terms with, treating, and accepting male sterility. It tested our marriage and view of life, and changed us as people and as a couple in a very real and very fundamental way. We hope to inspire others with our journey and create a place where none of us feel alone. Please join and share with us as we grow into our adopted life.
