Life Is Beautiful

 

- Sabiha Ghiasi

I am a medical marvel. I was born the last of three children, exactly eight months after my mother had a Copper-T fixed in place, to seal the fate on their family of four. I was a kilogram of wrinkled skin at birth. Fast forward to 15 years later, my period had still not made an appearance. A quick sonogram told us that I had something called Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD, at the time). I was overweight, suffered from severe acne, and was promptly put on birth control pills to regularise my cycle.

For the next ten years, I took really good care of my body. I worked out, lost weight, and remained fairly healthy. It was not like my cycle was suddenly watching the calendar, but I could afford to get off the pill every now and then. In the meantime, I was constantly reminded, by articles, my doctor, my family, and society-at large, what a tough time I was going to have while trying to get pregnant.

I met my husband, Nadir, when I was 23. We were married two year later. At the back of my mind, the nagging voices kept telling me how tough PCOD, now called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, was going to make it for us to start a family. Nadir was well aware of the situation, and we always wanted kids. So, on our first wedding anniversary, we decided to begin the long journey that was in store for us to get pregnant. We were sure it would take at least a year. Then, IVF? Hip injections? Who knew what the future held.

Our daughter, Ziya, was born exactly nine months later. Yes, a medical marvel.

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