About

    Hey! I'm Maria. I'm a wife, a nurse, and the oldest of six siblings. I enjoy long talks over cups of coffee, reading mountains of books, binge-watching documentaries on netflix, and life with my husband. I'm a Catholic and I love the rich traditions of my faith. I'm a country girl at heart, but a city girl by circumstance. 

   I am part of the estimated 10% of women who are given a diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). In the summer of 2015, my husband Stephen and I were married. Best day ever. Nine other couples that we knew were married that spring/summer/fall as well. By Christmas, all of them were pregnant, except us. Not too worried but wondering what was up, I went to my Doctor. After blood tests, an ultrasound, and appointments with a encrinologist and gynecologist I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS. 

   My Doctor was not too concerned with my PCOS diagnosis. He knew that we wanted to have children, and soon, and he said to me, "Don't worry, you'll be pregnant in no time. I know many women with PCOS who have babies no problem." He gave me a somewhat vague pamphlet to read and sent me to the endocrinologist. The endocrinologist did not have anything of great value to tell me, since all my hormone levels were fine except for a slightly elevated testosterone level. He told me make sure I take vitamin D and calcium, then off I went to the gynecologist. He prescribed me Provera and Clomid, and told me that if it didn't work, come back to see him and he'll prescribe it again. 

   After all these Dr visits, I still had very little knowledge of what PCOS was, how it would affect me now and in the future, or how difficult it would be to deal with physically, mentally, and spiritually. It wasn't until I read "Natural Solutions to PCOS" by Marilyn Glenville, and started to do my own research did I come to realize that I needed to be more pro-active than my Doctors let on if I wanted to remain healthy and someday have a baby. I learned that PCOS is the most common endocrine disorder in adult women today. PCOS can lead to diabetes, full blown metabolic syndrome, and heart disease. PCOS not only makes it difficult to concieve due to reduced or stopped ovulation, but women with PCOS also have higher incidences of miscarriage and gestational diabetes. Peachy. 

  I've made it my personal mission to get to the bottom of why I have PCOS, why so many women have PCOS, and what we can do about it. I'm not ready to resign myself to infertility, diabetes and heart disease.


"There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them."  Denis Waitley