PCOS Magazine

I’ll admit, I’m on a bit of a blogging bent today. I already spent about a week thinking about the topic I’m going to discuss throughout this post. My other post today was reactionary. Just FYI.

So, onward…

Almost one-and-one-half years ago, my then-boyfriend proposed to me after almost three years dating. Of course, I said yes. Flash-forward to today, April 2008, and I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked two clear questions: 1) when’s the wedding? and 2) are you going to have children? My answers, which I’ve now give on autopilot are: 1) we’re not sure yet, and 2) NO and Hell No. Regarding the wedding, for those of you who at home who are keeping score — it’s because we’ve spent a lot of time mobile and long-distance. We thought giving a try to actually living in the same zip code might be a new and novel idea. (note the sarcasm).

Heredity, on the other hand, has been a cruel master to me and my health. It was like I hit age 30 and the warranty expired on my body. Now mind you, I’ve battled other chronic health issues since my teenage years, namely PCOS. It wasn’t until about seven (7) years ago, though, that I had my definitive polycystic ovarian syndrome and insulin resistance (now diabetes) diagnoses. I’ve known since my junior-high days that something was incredibly not right with my body hormonally. It’s sad that it took until my mid-to-late 20s to finally find a doctor who was actually clued in to PCOS to diagnose it — but I digress into another bent.

So my answer when people ask if we plan to have children is always a resounding NO. First off, we (being the aforementioned fiance and I) have a niece and two twin nephews who we love to dote on and spoil, much to their parent’s chagrin. I have had great sputtering contests with the niece (because she thinks it’s funny to do) and I’ve spent many a day running around my future in-law’s wood floors after the nephews as they’ve raced around and around in their walkers. I love those kids to death, and wouldn’t trade the time I have with them for the world.

But at the same time, both my fiance and I battle too many inherited and/or chronic illnesses. We are also a very mobile couple, and don’t think we’d do a kid any justice because our lives are so chaotic. Foremost, however, is the fact that we don’t want to pass what we’ve battled (medically) on to a child to then have to deal with. I can just see it – our hypothetical son or daughter would reach 18 having dealt with their own health issues by then and say “Thanks. Thanks a Whole Freakin’ Lot.” I don’t want a daughter to fight PCOS anymore than I like doing it (because I don’t). I don’t want a son to know that at some point, his body will rebel on him and he’ll have to take medication to control his blood sugars.

So, for us, our “children” will be of the furry and scaley variety…and perhaps we’ll adopt a few dust bunnies in the process.