Endometriosis makes conceiving more difficult

Emilee and Jacob are walking a road they never imagined they would have to walk — the road of infertility. Emilee’s diagnosis of endometriosis has made building a family more difficult than most couples.

Like so many other young couples, Emilee and Jacob spent years dreaming of growing a family. They imagined their future children, coaching Little League games, attending dance recitals, and sharing the everyday moments that make a family whole.

But looking back, Emilee, a first-grade teacher from Youngsville, now realizes all the signs were there. She had endometriosis and didn’t know it. As a teenager, her periods were intensely painful and heavy. But like many young women, she didn’t understand that wasn’t normal. “Sometimes, I was even scared to go to school because I bled through everything,” Emilee recalls. She pushed through the pain and inconvenience, assuming it was just part of being a woman.

Growing up, she didn’t realize that her mother and other family members also struggled with endometriosis. Her mother had a hysterectomy at an early age and aunts and cousins now talk to her about their symptoms that point to possible endometriosis. 

Appendectomy leads to diagnosis of endometriosis

In the summer of 2022, everything came to a head for Emilee when what she thought was a stomach virus turned into an emergency appendectomy. During the surgery, doctors also discovered a large cyst on her left ovary and many lesions indicating endometriosis. Now all the pain and heavy periods made sense with a diagnosis of endometriosis.

Emilee had no idea at the time how much words like endometriosis and ovarian cyst would shape her future. Follow-up surgery under the care of her OB-GYN and Dr. John Storment at Fertility Answers, confirmed her endometriosis diagnosis.  removed some of the endometriosis lesions and preserved both of ovaries. However, not all lesions and scar tissue can be removed making fertilization more difficult.

After her surgery, life seemed to be back on track for Emilee and Jacob.  They had their dream wedding, a tropical honeymoon, and had excitedly begun trying to grow their family. “Jacob is a few years older than me, so we didn’t want to wait. We never imagined that more than three years later, we’d still be trying,” says Emilee.

Endometriosis causes infertility and can be inherited

With endometriosis, cells from the normal uterine lining – called endometrium – attach to structures outside the uterine cavity, such as the pelvic lining, ovaries, bladder, and intestines. Sometimes abdominal organs can even become bound together with scar tissue causing severe pain. When scar tissue and adhesions block the fallopian tubes, this causes fertility issues since the egg and sperm cannot meet.

Endometriosis has genetic links. A woman who has a mother or sister with endometriosis is six times more likely to develop endometriosis than women in the general population. While most women with pelvic pain are suspected of having some degree of endometriosis, diagnosing it isn’t as easy as just getting a blood or urine test. Only surgery can definitively diagnose endometriosis. On average in the US, it takes 10 years from symptom onset to receive an accurate diagnosis of endometriosis. 

Gift of Hope IVF Grant brings new hope for a family

Now, in 2025, Emilee and Jacob are still longing for the moment they see two pink lines on a pregnancy test or hear the rapid flutter of a tiny heartbeat. They dream of coaching their child’s baseball team or cheering from the sidelines at a dance recital.

“After three failed IUIs, countless negative tests, and an emotional rollercoaster that no one can prepare you for, we still cling to hope,” says Emilee. “However, the reality is, without financial help, we would not be able to continue on this journey of fulfilling our dreams. The Gift of Hope IVF Grant represents more than just assistance. It represents the hope of finally holding the child we’ve longed for in our arms.”