Welcome Record Courier Readers

I hopefully anticipate some new readers referred here by the Record Courier article published on Friday, May 17. And I would like to say welcome, and thank you for stopping by!

I was very honored when Sheila Gardner asked if she could interview us and write about our story. And, after reading it, I feel like she captured a lot of our journey very well! I'd like to thank her for taking the time to write it and help the community understand a lot of what we, and many millions of couples with infertility, experience.

I hope that if you have any questions about infertility, or want to learn more, that my blog can help you find anything you wish to know. In the article, I recommended Resolve.org as a resource. I think I reference or link to their site in every post that I write. Any bit of information you need can be found through them.

One thing I wish the article had covered, and I understand there was a length restriction, so not everything could be covered, were a few basic facts about infertility.

Infertility is defined as "a disease or condition of the reproductive system often diagnosed after a couple had had one year of unprotected, well-timed intercourse, or if the woman has suffered from multiple miscarriages and the woman is under 35 years of age. If the woman is over 35 years old, it is diagnosed after 6 months of unprotected, well-timed intercourse."

It's estimated that 7.3 million people in the United States alone suffer from infertility.

That works out to be about 1 in 8 couples.

This disease is very widespread, and affects more people than many realize. And with the tremendous emotional, spiritual, physical, and financial strains, it's a major issue.

For those who think they may be experiencing infertility, please don't hesitate to find help now. My one regret is that I did not seek the help of a specialist as soon as I suspected a problem. I was worried about the cost of treatment, and thought that my family doctor would be able to help me at a more affordable cost. However, I ended up wasting a lot of time and money on things that did not help. A specialist, or Reproductive Endocrinologist, is the best and most highly trained person to help. For those who are local to my hometown, call the Nevada Center for Reproductive Medicine and set up a consultation. Both of their doctors are amazing, and their whole staff are incredible and friendly. They can help! Visit nevadafertility.com to get more information. For more about when to see a specialist, read a recent post, When Should I See a Specialist?

For those who are here to learn and know how to best support their family and friends, please take a look through my posts. If I may, here are a few that may interest you the most:

Join the Movement and Speak Out! My post written for Resolve.org's National Infertility Awareness Week as part of the Blogger's Unite Challenge.

Comfort IN, Dump OUT talks about an article written for the LA Times, which discusses the best ways to help someone going through any sort of trauma.

Infographic, a quick visual representation of some interesting and helpful data.

Thanks again for stopping by! If you have any questions, or wish to contact me, please take advantage of the Q&A tab at the top of the page. I'm truly humbled by friends' and community's interest in infertility, and hope that I am able to help everyone to understand a little bit more.

EDIT: The article was just published online. However, the newspaper requires a subscription fee in order to read it online. If you care to look anyway, it's here: http://www.recordcourier.com/news/6534385-113/allison-infertility-jeppsons-john