Hope for Healing: Mandy Forrester

Here we go. Hi, good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us this morning. This is an impromptu Hope for Healing session, but I have a lovely woman here who has agreed to share her story, and it is an awesome one, as always. So, I have Mandy Forrester here with us today, and Mandy is a 33-year-old teacher turned stay-at-home mom of 2. Spoiler alert, her infertility journey ends in success. Her son is 3 years old and her daughter is almost 1, and she's currently homeschooling her son for preschool and recently started tot school, which I love that, with her daughter. And she lives a crunchy lifestyle as much as possible, and they love splitting their time. Their family loves splitting their time between Florida and the US Virgin Islands. Lucky. And, and her goal is to just live a pretty chill lifestyle, which is something to aspire to, right? All of us Type A's are, are envious of that. So welcome, Mandy. Thank you for joining us this morning. And I know that we've talked a little bit about your a little bit about your journey, but take us back to that day in the doctor's office when you were given the news that you would not be able to have kids or not be able to have kids the way that you had anticipated. Tell us about that day.

Good morning. Thank you for having me. So at 19 years old, I was told that I could not have kids naturally that the only way that I would be able to have kids successfully would be through in vitro fertilization. And at the time, it didn't really matter to me. I wasn't even really interested in having children at the time. But fast forward, and I met my husband, and then the desire to have children was created. And so a family member of ours was diagnosed with cancer. And through researching the specific cancer she had, I learned that cancer can be can be healed and reversed with nutrition. There's actually a doctor named Dr. Gerson who had been reversing cancer with nutrition for a very long time. And so he had a book about Healing the Gerson Way. And so I read this book trying to understand more about how the body heals in order to help this family member. And through that, um, I read that nutrition and a rigorous healing regimen, you can reduce the size of scar tissue. And so this sparked an idea in my mind that the tissues that were blocking my fallopian tubes could be minimized. And so from that point on, I, um, embarked on a self-healing journey. And so I followed the Healing Gerson method, um, for myself, and that included using, um, 100% organic food, juicing, even doing coffee enemas, because you have to release the toxicity that's in your body in order for the nutrition to be absorbed properly. So there was a whole regimen, and I, and I— so I started with food and nutrition to heal the body, and then that kind of sparked a whole spiritual journey. And so I went down a rabbit hole.

You went— I'm sorry, say that one more time.

And I said I went down this rabbit hole.

Okay, so before we go down that rabbit hole, because I definitely want to hear, um, I love a good rabbit hole, I want to know what took you to the doctor's office in the first place at 19. What were they, what were they looking for when they found this diagnosis of the scar tissue in your fallopian tubes? Were you having a lot of symptoms? Were you having painful periods? How did we get to that point?

Um, yes, there were. I think it maybe was just like a routine pap smear, but I was experiencing pelvic pain. And ever since I started my period, I had— it was very heavy flows, and I've just always had kind of issues in that area. And so I was put on birth control for a long time And I feel as though birth control maybe played a role in the health of my female reproductive system. So in that doctor's appointment, and they told me that I actually had to have surgery for them to find out what was going on. And then that's how they learned that I had— my fallopian tubes were blocked. And I had some endometriosis as well. Right.

Yeah. So that's actually a pretty quick turnaround from symptoms to diagnosis because it usually takes them about 8 years to diagnose endometriosis. But as soon as you started saying pelvic pain and, and the symptoms, I thought to myself, she's going to say that she had, had endometriosis. So, yeah, I know myself how painful that is.

Yes, definitely. And I was really young, and so when you're that young, you, you don't really— you're not fully aware of everything that's going on when you start to go down the road. Um, and so it was some time after that before I even desired to have children. So I was 19 when I was diagnosed, and then I was probably 20 5, I think, before I started actually putting forth the intention to heal my body.

And in the meantime, you were just suffering with the symptoms. You were just going about your daily life with these really painful periods and just kind of living with it because that's what you were told you had to do.

That's what I feel like we just do as women.

Yeah, yeah. I'd like to see that change, right? You know, instead of just kind of sweeping it out under the rug, you know, um, So many women live with that kind of pain and for years, you know, before they get help. So did you end up having to have any surgery or anything for that?

Um, for that, no. Later I did end up having to have surgery, um, towards the end of my journey.

Okay.

Where—

so let's go down that rabbit hole. So now you have got all this knowledge and you're ready to not only share it with your family member, but a light bulb has gone off for you and you see that this is going to be really, really beneficial to your own health and you start doing all the things. So then what's next?

So after doing the nutrition side, like I said, a whole like spiritual journey was opened. And from there it led into energy work and learning about the different um, your different, like, your auric energy, your emotional energy, your physical energy. And so it was energy work, and then it went into all kinds of, like, holistic things, and even little things that you can do with, like, aromatherapy, even color therapy. I got into using crystals. I certified as a Reiki master. I became certified as a metaphysical practitioner. And so I was just doing everything that I could possibly do for myself And it was like this one little seed of nutrition and food and learning that the body can heal opened up this healing, um, like all of the healing modalities that could possibly be there that I felt like that I could do myself. I never went and sought out someone during this period, during this period of time to like go and like help me do things. It was, it was very much, I wanted to do it myself. And so, um, I ended up becoming certified in those things and doing Reiki on myself and working with crystals. And then I also did a lot of what some people call shadow work, but basically it's digging your subconscious and figuring out the subconscious aspect of your physical wounds and your emotional wounds and any type of trauma you may have from childhood. And, um, I did have some abandonment wounds from childhood that I was able to talk through with my mother during the time, which was also very healing. And so you have to start healing on every level in order to be able to heal the whole body.

Yes, absolutely. That's, that's what we talk about in this group so much. And, um, the group that I'm talking about, by the way, if you're watching on YouTube, is Flourishing Through Infertility, which I'll drop the link here. And if you happen to be watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that like and subscribe if you're loving this kind of content, because this is the kind of thing that we focus on, is whole body infertility healing. You're speaking my language is all I'm trying to say, because, you know, the emotional component, you know, I, I want to address this because it's a little bit of an elephant in the room, right? Because when you say that to somebody who is suffering from infertility, it's a very painful thing. And what we are not saying— we're not saying that it's all in your head, or that if you just think positive, or if you just whatever, um, like some people will say to you, that you'll be able to get pregnant. But We aren't saying it's not in your head too. You know, you do have to address those emotional wounds. You do have to address that trauma because it is being stored in your body and it's acting as a blocker. Right. I mean, I think that we could do a whole second video on just that, but, um, that's what you're saying.

Yes.

Yeah.

And I, that was a very, um, key component to my healing and especially because my abandonment wounds, even though my— they were with my mother, even though she didn't physically abandon me, it was more of me feeling a sense of emotional abandonment. And so for me, it's like I see the correspondence. Well, it's very interesting that I have my own, quote, mother wounds as infertility, how that manifested in my life as infertility. And so you start to see when you, when you branch out, you start to see how little things are connected throughout your life. And that your childhood very much plays a big part in, in your emotional well-being, your physical well-being as an adult. And so that was a really big component also, yes, dealing with the emotional, um, traumas and baggage that I had stored in your subconscious that you don't even think about on a day-to-day basis until you really start to dig deep. And that's why people call it shadow work, is because you You have to dig into your own shadows to be able to shine the light and see what's going on there.

Amazing. Yeah. Okay, so we're, we're healing, we're doing, doing all the hard things. What happens next?

So then, um, and I just continued to— it just became a lifestyle at that point. So it wasn't— it was beyond healing now. I'm just living the way just living that life. I, I still continue to eat organic food and am mindful about the foods that I'm putting in my body. I still am very much, um, into— I have crystals and I use oils and grounding and just being more connected to things beyond the physical realm. And so it just became a way of life, and then I just continued to live life and go on. And then at some point in time, I think it was 2016, I got pregnant for the first time, and I ended up having a miscarriage at 6 weeks. However, it was a victory for me because I got pregnant. Yeah, all on my own. And so it was—

until you get that positive, you don't know if that's even possible. So now you at least know it's possible. And you go through the heartache of—

yeah. And so like, I know miscarriage is hard for a lot of people, but for me it was really like, it was, it was a success for me because I'm like, my body was able to do this all on its own. And, um, so that really gave me hope and kind of reignited that desire to have children. I think maybe I kind of just set it down, the desire to have children, and just continue to live life. I wasn't really heavily focused on it. Um, but that reignited that, like, okay, let's do this, we can do this, I got pregnant, this is great. And then, so I think, so after that, that's when, um, shortly after I had that miscarriage, maybe 6 months or so after I had that miscarriage, I woke up one day and was having pain on my right side. And so I didn't know what was going on and it was pretty intense. And for me, it takes a lot for me to go to the doctor when it comes to pain or something. And so it was that level that I was like, I need to go see someone. And at the time we were living on St. John in the US Virgin Islands and they don't, there's a clinic on the island, but there's not really a hospital on the island. So I had my friend take me to the clinic and they ended up, the only thing the clinic could do was give me pain relief. And then so I had to get in the ambulance, a land ambulance, and then get on a boat ambulance and get to the next island and to the hospital on the next island. And, um, comes to find out, I— my right fallopian tube was swollen and filled with blood. And so I had to have an emergency surgery to have that right fallopian tube removed. And so that was October of 2016. Actually, I just remembered it was 2015 that I had got pregnant for the first time and had a miscarriage. It was 2016 that I had the surgery and had my right fallopian tube removed.

And was it an ectopic pregnancy then? Did they determine if it was?

Actually, which, um, that's When first hearing about what was wrong, that's what my question was. But it was— there was really no reason. It just was for whatever reason, maybe because of some of the blockages in my fallopian tubes and hormones and who knows what goes on in there.

Yeah.

And so then, so that was October 2016. And then April 22nd, birthday, uh, 2017 is when I got pregnant again. And that pregnancy was successful and I had my son January 20th, 2018. And so, and everything was great with that pregnancy. There were no complications. I didn't have any pain. I felt great. My body felt great. Um, it was amazing. And the birth of my son was really amazing as well. No issues, like it just all went very smoothly. It was like my body just knew what to do and did its thing, and it was successful.

And how, how shocked and how like in awe were you when you got that second positive pregnancy test?

Um, it was really exciting.

Yeah. Yeah.

And It's funny because I think because of what everything I had done to get to that point, you just become so much more aware of your body.

Yeah.

And I knew the day that I got pregnant, like literally that day I knew that I was—

I love that for you.

And so I've just become so much more in tune with my body, uh, through this process. Like even something that was really random is my my periods became in sync with the moon cycle. The moon cycle is a 28-day cycle, and so I would actually, um, bleed with the full moon and be fertile on the new moon. And so when you really start to heal your body and open yourselves up to the awareness of beyond physical reality, you start to become very much more connected. And so I felt very connected in that pregnancy, and I felt very connected to, um, that baby that chose me, my son. And it was just— it just became so much of a spiritual experience for me at that point.

That's amazing. So your baby boy is here, you got the pregnancy and birth that everyone dreams of. And how, how does the rest of your story wrap up?

Well, then we went on to have another baby. And so keep in mind, I have fallopian tube at this point, and so I got pregnant with my son.

And what are your ages? What's your age with the birth of each of your children?

Um, I was 30 when I gave birth to my son and 30 to when I gave birth to my daughter.

So 11 years after you were told that you would need IVF or you would not be able to conceive, 11 years later, your son is born.

Right.

Yeah.

And with my daughter, I didn't have to try to do anything to get pregnant with her. It was just we made the decision we were ready to have a second one. And literally the first month that we actually really tried, we got pregnant with her. And I ended up actually having a home birth with her. Um, I wanted to—

on accident?

No, purpose. Yeah, she was born during, during COVID June last year. And so I was at home, it was a water birth and it was amazing. I wanted to have in a hospital because of my past and my history. I just wanted the comfort. There were so many unknowns, even though it's been great, you know, I've, I've never given birth before. And so Um, I wanted to have him in the hospital and it was great. The doctors all respected my wishes. Um, and then for my daughter, I had a water birth at home with a midwife and that was amazing too. My body did great. Um, and so yes, I have two very healthy children. I had healthy pregnancies. The second pregnancy was harder on my body physically. I had them close together. I continued to breastfeed my son through my with my daughter and a little short time beyond. And so I think with just different aspects of my life and my history too, that it was harder on my body. I was— I experienced having like pelvic girdle pain. So my hips and my sacral joints. Are much more flexible since having my daughter. And so I am in physical therapy for that to stabilize my pelvic area. But other than that, you know, my, my health is really good and my daughter's healthy, my son's healthy, and we're all good there.

That's awesome. What an amazing story. And I just really hope that people latch on to, you know, women who are struggling with infertility and have been told, um, you know, similar to your story and my story, but they latch on to how much is actually in their control in terms of what they're putting in their body and their healing journey. And, you know, modern medicine told you that they couldn't help you and it turns out you didn't need their help. So yeah, I think that that's, that's the takeaway here. What would you, um, what would you like to say to anybody in your, your same position or going through, you know, a similar struggle?

I think like, um, you said is I hope that we stand as beacons to show you that it can be done. And I feel like that belief is much more powerful than we give credit to. And so if you believe the body can heal, which it can and it will, your chances of a successful pregnancy are much more than if you doubt it. And so it's really that you just really have to have faith, but a strong belief and desire will get you most of the way there. Because if you have that belief and desire, life will propel you in the direction it needs to in order to allow you to heal on all levels to achieve your goal.

I love that. There's so many good nuggets in there. I'm like, oh, we could have you back and talk about this, and we could have you back and talk about that. So maybe we'll be seeing Mandy again, um, here on YouTube, or if you're watching live on Facebook. Mandy, thank you so much for joining me this morning, um, and doing a little hustling to get on here. Um, a Saturday morning. I really appreciate you. If you have comments or questions for Mandy and you're watching, just go ahead and drop them here. If you're watching on replay, let us know that too by commenting replay. And thank you so much for joining us, um, for Hope for Healing. Health and blessings to everyone.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Mandy. Bye-bye.

Bye.