Journey of Hope: Love, Marriage, and Overcoming Infertility at 40

By Samantha Fitts and Ed.D.

There are some women who don’t have a desire to get married and have children. However, Samantha was not one of them. Many women in their late 30s and early 40s postpone marriage or childbearing to obtain their education, establish their careers, and become financially secure. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to difficulties in finding Mr. Right or conceiving (or both). This can be an arduous and heartbreaking time of life, when it seems lifelong hopes and dreams of family may not be possible.

Samantha delayed marriage until the age of 36 after she’d pursued advanced degrees and established her career—not entirely by choice since Mr. Right hadn’t entered her life sooner. At times she wondered if it would ever happen. Once married, she and her husband wanted kids right away, only to suffer a miscarriage and the devastating diagnosis of infertility.

In this book, Samantha shares her extraordinary journey of hope. You will discover how her faith in God and perseverance led her to the right husband and overcoming infertility to have their first baby at 40. Don’t give up on your dreams, whatever they are. You still have time.





Author Dr. Samantha Fitts is an educator/specialist (special education, literacy, education leadership, and adult learning), professional development presenter, and motivator. She has been in education for over twenty years. She is extremely passionate about helping others reach their professional and personal goals in life.

For more information, visit www.samanthafitts.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Aug 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781662902635

Book preview

© 2018 Samantha Fitts

Cover by TyBu Studios

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author.

Published by Gatekeeper Press

2167 Stringtown Rd, Suite 109

Columbus, OH 43123-2989

www.GatekeeperPress.com

ISBN (paperback): 9781662902642

eISBN: 9781662902635

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should consult with their doctor in any matters relating to his/her health. The author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability.

All scriptural passages in this book are quoted from the New International Version of the Bible. They are quoted in conformity with the publisher’s requirement that no more than 500 verses be used in a single edition of a book.

Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.

Table of Contents

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the loving memory of my father, Mack Arthur Rogers. I know he would be proud of me. It is also dedicated to:

my daughter, Nadia Grace, who is my hope and gift from God;

my husband, Elroy Jevon, who is committed to our vows and always

there for me in sickness and in health;

my mother, Nellie;

my sisters, Serena and Danielle;

my father in law, Eddie O.;

my brother and sister in law, Eddie G. and Mary;

my nephews, Mackell, Simeon, and Jared;

my nieces, Brooklyn and Amelia.

I thank them all for their love and support.

Are you ready to hear about my own tale?

When I was in my mid-thirties I began to reflect on the answers to my questions. I began to check off what I had accomplished: Go to college? Check. Become a teacher? Check. Live in a big city? Check. Drive a nice car? Check. Live in a two-story house? Check. Get married? Well, more on that later. Have children? There was definitely no check for this question, and by the time I reached my late thirties I was disappointed about the lack of success in accomplishing my childhood goal of having children. Like most young girls, I dreamed of having a family, especially since I had several aunts and uncles, all of whom had children. I was surrounded by family and children from the time I was a youngster. And yet there I was, thirty-four years old and living in Atlanta, but I wasn’t married and had no children even though, in these modern times, not being married doesn’t deter some women from getting pregnant. My biological clock was ticking loudly, but I preferred to be married when I conceived.

I was living the life I envisioned in part, but not totally. Don’t get me wrong. It took perseverance to go to college and get a good job in the field I’d chosen. Not all college graduates are so blessed as I was, and not all drove nice cars or owned their own homes. I was grateful for what I had. A lot of dreams from my early musings had come true, but something was missing. A majority of females grow up to get married and have children. In a sense, it’s the culmination of all other life events and the glue that cements the other elements together. Some people are content to go through life without a partner, but I wasn’t one of them. Friends, co-workers, and family members continually asked me when I was going to settle down, marry, and have kids, and by the time I was well into adulthood, listening to these inquiries were growing wearisome. I didn’t want to hear them anymore. These people meant well, but I’d been dating and no serious relationship had grown to fruition. The fairy tale wasn’t complete.

A large part of my story is about putting that last piece into the puzzle, about finding the last element that would enable me to say that I was truly living the life I had envisioned: having a child. But one doesn’t just walk into a store and pick out a husband and baby and charge it all on a credit card. There are online dating sites, but contrary to what some television commercials say, they’re no guarantee for success.

The hardest part of my journey, and what most of the following pages are devoted to, was finding the right husband and having children. But why is having children hard, you might ask. The answer is that there are many fertility issues for women in their mid-to-late thirties, and getting pregnant isn’t a given. Throughout this book, you’ll find summaries and points to remember as you read about my personal odyssey. They pertain to setting and achieving goals, but most of all they are designed to help you fulfill your own dreams and live the life you envision. That includes getting married and having a baby. More specifically, my story is about having a baby later in life, a time when it becomes statistically harder to become pregnant. If your biological clock is ticking, this book is for you!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you a little more about who I am since everyone’s life is a tapestry, and each thread is important in creating the big picture. Let’s start at the beginning.

I was still very young when I developed a love of sports. We lived in a two-bedroom home, and my father was an avid Atlanta Braves fan. At the time, TBS, the television network was run by Braves’ owner Ted Turner, and their games were broadcast nationally every night at eight o’clock. I didn’t really want to go to bed at eight—what child does?—so it was either watch baseball on the one television set we had or go to sleep. I chose the Atlanta Braves, and my father, uncles, and cousins all taught me about the game. As time went on, I knew the rules of the game as well the players, stats, and so much more. I was a fan!

I also developed a love of football, and my favorite franchise growing up was the Dallas Cowboys, known as America’s team. Football was also an integral part of the culture of Enterprise, as it is in so many towns across America when the glow of stadium lights can be seen shortly after sunset. High school football was big, and it was a case of Friday Night Lights during the fall in Enterprise. Like most people, I attended the games and was invested in the home team. Just like family and faith, baseball and Friday Night Lights were part of the rhythms of life. But it didn’t end there. I also participated in sports and played basketball in junior high school and softball at the local recreation center. I still love sports today, and it all started with a single television set and some high school football games.

I had other passions as well, and one remains with me to this day—my love of radio, television, film, and theatre. My acting interests developed at church when performing in skits for various programs. I was also a member of the drama club in high school. The drama club was sponsored by Ms. Wingate,