Sharli

My journey began when I was 13 years old.

I hadn’t gotten my first period, which worried me because all of my family were considered “early bloomers.” I had been reaching all the milestones as I went through puberty, except getting my period. At first my mom believed that I was just a late bloomer, and there was nothing to worry about. However I had this nagging feeling that something was not right. A year before I was diagnosed is when I had my first appointment with my family doctor. He ordered an ultrasound and bloodwork, as he suspected I had PCOS, and that was throwing my hormones off, causing the absence of my period. My bloodwork came back normal, however, my ultrasound revealed an absence of a uterus. I will never forget being told “you’ll never have kids.” My doctor wasn’t even the one to tell me, it was the doctor filling in for him. Neither of my doctors had any clue what this meant or what it was called. I was then sent for two MRI’s to ensure the diagnosis. It was revealed that I have 2 functioning ovaries, both fallopian tubes, no cervix, a shortened vaginal canal, and my uterus is the size of a pinky finger, underdeveloped and not connected to anything.

Initially I felt a huge wave of sadness and confusion. I had never heard of this condition before. I remember thinking “how can I be born without a uterus?” How could I, out of all of the people in the world, be born without the ability to carry, and birth my own children? At the time, I knew of no one that had the condition, I believed I was the only one in the world born like this.

After I was diagnosed, I began researching everything I could about the condition. I came across the name “MRKH” and this then led me to the MRKH page on facebook. It was there where I finally realized that I am not alone in this. There are other people out there like me. At this stage in my life, I was 14, I had no clue what was next. I was referred to an OBGYN in my city, who had seen MRKH patients before, and she completed a procedure to figure out what my next steps were. It was determined that I would need vaginal lengthening treatments. During all of this I fell pretty far into depression. I stopped talking to my friends, my family, I stopped going to school. All I wanted to do was be alone in my dark room. It was the darkest time of my life.

I first found the MRKH facebook page not long after being diagnosed. However, I found that it was mostly older women there. I craved the connection of a fellow MRKHer who was around the same age. I did not find that until I connected with Vics and the rest of the stars team! I have a pretty good support team now. I know that if I ever have a bad MRKH day, I can go to my two best friends, or I can go to my mom and sister. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for my support network.

I first connected with Vics after I’d had a pretty bad MRKH day, she checked in on me and I am forever grateful for that. I wrote a couple pieces for stars before I was asked to join the writers team! It has been so good to be connected to such a fantastic group of people who understand exactly what you are going through.

Now, I am focusing on advocating for MRKH. Providing support wherever and whenever I can. MRKH is not something that anyone should be left to go through alone. Looking back now, as someone that has gone through the thick of it. As for the future, I’m unsure of where I want to go in life. I just moved back to my hometown from college, and I’m finding a job in veterinary medicine. That is my calling