Hey Beautiful Fam! I’m so excited and HONORED to feature the story of this phenomenal person.  She is my sistah from another mistah and my bestie for life—Sweet Sweet Carolina .  Sis, I so appreciate your bravery not only sharing your journey with fibroids, but entrusting me to share your story publicly.  I don’t take it lightly AT ALL.  I know for a fact that your story is going to touch the hearts of women who went through the same/similar emotions that your journey took you through.  It’s such a blessing  for me to do this and I appreciate you and my brother-in-law for allowing me this opportunity.  God bless you both!

Carolina’s story started when she was just 15 years of age.  At the time she didn’t know anything about fibroids but just managed her menstrual cycles as best as she could.  She described them as being very heavy and extremely painful.  The only way for her to get through the day was taking different home remedies and pain killers—without them it was nearly impossible for her to move around. 

By the time she was in her 20’s her heavy and painful periods were a way of life, but it came with many challenges.  Carolina experienced agitation, bad mood swings, fatigue and low energy along with excessive bleeding.  She shared with me that years ago when we were working together at the movie theater, she literally fell asleep at the ticket booth because her cycle was so bad.  Carolina had to have her father pick her up from work because she was in so much pain.  The pain she had to endure was debilitating and affected her day to day life. 

Carolina discussed the symptoms she had been experiencing with her doctor and it was recommended she move forward with getting a biopsy to pinpoint the problem.  After her outpatient procedure, along with the symptoms she described, her doctor told her that she had Endometriosis.  This was a difficult diagnosis to receive and as you can imagine, so many thoughts flooded through her head.  She decided to get a second opinion and found out that she actually had multiple fibroids in her uterus.  Her Endometriosis diagnosis was inaccurate.  This is why I highly suggest getting a second (or third if needed) opinion when it comes to your health—because of the possibility of being misdiagnosed. 

Her doctor processed with her that if she was going to have children one day, she would have to have surgery to get the fibroids removed.  This would entail having a myomectomy which is an invasive procedure.  Carolina had 4 big fibroids and 4-5 small ones.  Nervous about the having the surgery, she turned to natural remedies to try to shrink them.  Over the years she monitored her fibroids by following up with the doctor to monitor the growth of the fibroids.  Thankfully some of the small fibroids did shrink, however, the big fibroids didn’t.  She still kept monitoring her diet and using herbal remedies to help with her fibroids as much as possible. 

Although Carolina still dealt with the physical, mental and emotional effects of fibroids she was still very hopeful.  In 2016, her and her husband got the most amazing news a couple can get—they were pregnant with their first child.  This is something that she desired for so long and it finally came to pass.  I was beyond excited for them; especially because I knew she had been struggling with fibroids for years.  She was even proactive with her diet to naturally shrink her fibroids.  I remembered we looked at baby clothes together, maternity clothes, and talked about planning a baby shower and all the things exciting activities that go along with becoming a new mom.

I received a call very early in the morning from my best friend and once I heard her voice, I knew something was wrong.  At almost 5 months pregnant, the unimaginable happened.  Carolina went through something no parent should face.  A loss like this took a devastating toll her body, mind and spirit.  Over time, I watched her inner strength persevere through depression and grief but she didn’t give up hope.  It was the hardest thing she had to go through while processing emotions of inadequacy and wondering if she would have the opportunity to have children again.  So, Carolina started planning for the future.   

Surgery is a scary thing to face but as advised by her doctors, Carolina had a Robotic Myomectomy in 2018.  The surgeon made several tiny incisions to remove as much of the fibroids as possible.  Carolina said that the doctor was able to remove all of her big fibroids but the smaller ones remained in her uterus.  Thankfully all of her pathology results came back negative.  Carolina found out that she would not be able to have a vaginal birth because of the type of the procedure she went through.  This was another form of grief that she had to face.  Yes, that is a form of grief.  The fact that you imagined something one way most of your life and find out that you can’t have/experience it, that is also considered a form of loss. 

Recovery was a couple weeks but the doctor recommended waiting 3-6 months before trying to get pregnant again.  It was also recommended that they don’t wait too long to try again as well.  The doctor stated that she would continue to monitor her post-op to keep an eye on how she continues to heal. 

Two years after her surgery Robotic Myomectomy, I’m so blessed to share that Carolina and her husband had 2 healthy pregnancies and now have 2 bundles of joy!  It’s something about the number 2 lol.  Both pregnancies were carried full term and she gave birth via C-section with NO complications.  This warms my heart when I think of their journey and what it took to go through in those dark moments. 

When I asked Carolina what advice or words of encouragement she would give to other women who have gone through the same or similar challenges her response was this:

“Don’t give up.  But most importantly, surround yourself with genuine people who will love and support you and will not judge you.  Your journey is your journey.  There are some things you can’t control so don’t blame yourself but be compassionate.  We constantly think about the could’ve, should’ve, would’ve but a lot of times it’s out of our control.  And last but not least, silence the outside noise of other people’s opinions on when you should have kids.  They don’t know what your battling internally.  We are going through enough emotions as it is and we don’t need any added negativity or judgement.”  Well said!  Sis, I’m so proud of you!  Your strength and bravery leaves me in awe <3

When talking with Carolina about the physical, mental and emotional effects of fibroids and loss, we started to notice a common trend.  Many women that we have spoken to or heard stories about have constantly linked, uterine issues or having a child with feeling inadequate or “not woman enough.”  It makes me sad to think that my sisters are feeling this way, but we will definitely peel back the layers on that one in a post of its own. 

Thank you in advance beautiful fam for your compassion and support for this community of brave and beautiful women sharing their story.  Love and blessings!