Dear Claire,
Thank you.
Did I say that at the time? I probably didn’t – but I want to now. I am and forever will be thankful to you for your support and for your honesty.
When it happened I thought it was a miscarriage. I’d miscarried before and was distraught at the thought that it had happened again. A trip to the Drs confirmed otherwise and turned my life upside down. The rest passed by in a blur. A dash to the hospital. Blood tests. Internal scans. Passing out. Being wheeled into surgery. I came home that evening a different person.
You came to see me a couple of days later. You cried when you saw me. But they were angry tears. You were angry that I’d lost my baby. Angry that I’d had to have surgery. Angry that a tube had been removed. Angry that my fertility, my future would be affected. And most of all you were angry that it happened. Like it had happened to you.
You were able to articulate what at that point in time I couldn’t. So overcome with the loss and the fear of the situation, I was lost. But you were there for me. Because you understood you spoke to me without caution. Without hesitancy and without fear. You were honest. You were what I needed. You even managed to make me laugh (like you always do).
As bonds go both being ectopic pregnancy survivors is not one we would have chosen, but it Is part of us now. Added to the fabric of our story that started some 30 years ago at school.
Thank you Claire for giving me the strength I needed –8 years ago now, although it can still feel like only yesterday.
Love always,
Natalie x
Thank you to Natalie for sharing her letter with us. If you would like to share your experience of ectopic pregnancy, please visit our guide for more information.
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