Turning Pain Into Purpose  and  Refusing To Give Up .  .  . 

My ‘aha’ moment about the Fertility Hope pendant came while reading yet another book on infertility.  At the time I was engaged to a man who I learned would not marry me until I became pregnant.  I had always wanted to be a mom and I loved this man passionately so I did everything I could do to conceive.  In between the IUI’s, and IVF’s I was doing fertility yoga, special diets, chiropractic, hypno-fertility, prayers, vitamins, meditation, mega hours researching the web, etc.  It crossed my mind that I was training as if I was going to the Olympics and there should be a medal!

I did not conceive quickly enough for my fiancé and he broke up with me.  My world was turned upside down, my self-esteem shattered.  I made two decisions in the aftermath and I invested everything.  First, I would not give up my dream of becoming a mom – some how, some way, some day.  Second, I would take the pain of my infertility and turn it into something good – to help other women like me honor their journey and to raise awareness. 

First came the Fertility Hope pendant.  When I realized there was no symbol to raise infertility awareness, I created it.  The burgundy heart within a spiral Infertility Awareness symbol can be found on a wide variety of products.  As a cancer survivor myself, my hope is that like breast cancer’s pink ribbon, awareness and compassion will be raised and infertility will be reframed into an admirable fight. My Infertility Warrior character and blog soon followed.  In the following months I added several more designs close to my heart:  Mother Child pendant, Mother Charm, Life Charm,  and the Weight Loss Motivation pendant.

During the first year of Life Medals an old girlfriend of my ex-fiancé’s contacted me.  Our experiences were uncannily similar.  We had both been emotionally abused by this man and his lies. Finding each other was healing for both of us and it came just in time for me. 

After 5 years and 13 procedures my dream of becoming a mom came true as I gave birth to my little miracle, a beautiful baby boy. My son was born a healthy 9.5 lbs and has filled my heart with more love than I ever imagined.  He was worth the wait, worth the effort and is my living lesson in never giving up. 

The mission of Life Medals is to validate, inspire, and encourage those battling tough life challenges.   Never give up!

Founder/Fertility Activist                             

     natto