It was 1975, and I was sure I was pregnant.


 I already had a one-year-old son. Back then, there were no home pregnancy tests, so I went to my doctor. He did a test, and it came back negative. He gave me some pills to “start my period.”


Even though the test said I wasn’t pregnant, I still felt like I was. I took the pills, but my period still didn’t start. So, my doctor did another pregnancy test, and this time it showed that I was pregnant.


About eight months later, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Nichole. She was born with Spina Bifida, which meant a lifetime of doctors, surgeries, and sadness. She was also deaf and had developmental disabilities.


It wasn’t until many years later that I started wondering if the pills I took to restart my period could have caused some of her conditions. I guess I’ll never know for sure.


My sweet Nichole passed away in 2000.


I can’t thank you enough for all the kind and thoughtful words. There are so many wonderful people out there. I never expected so many people to see and respond to my story. Thank you so much!

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