Ever since I was a little girl, I always knew I wanted to have a family. Being a mom someday seemed like an inevitable part of my future. When I was 21, my world turned upside down. I was blindsided with a diagnosis of an incurable chronic illness. I was told I had Crohn’s disease – an autoimmune disease that attacks the gastrointestinal tract, leading to severe pain and fatigue (just to name a few of the symptoms).
In that moment, as I grappled with my new identity and came to terms with the fact that I would live with this mysterious disease my entire life, I wondered whether my dream of becoming a mom would ever become a reality.
Natalie Hayden, a former TV news anchor living in St. Louis, shares here experiences being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and how she didn’t let it stop her from achieving her dreams of motherhood.
Chronic Illness and Motherhood: Why I Didn’t Let Crohn’s Disease Rob Me of My Future
Healthy Women
