At 32 years old, Monique Grant-Rhoden, a Jamaican nurse in New York was devastated after learning that she was unable to conceive. After years of waiting to get married, she was finally ready to start the life she desired when she thought it was ripped away. This God-fearing Christian woman found herself questioning God for not granting her long-awaiting wish. Little did she know her wish would be granted, it just required faith.
“Long and frustrating” is how she describes her journey visiting several doctors and undergoing tests to find out the underlying issue of her infertility. She even turned to herbs for natural remedies recommended by a friend along with medications from her then gynecologist hoping to get pregnant – all to no avail and only left her in despair.
“Mentally and emotionally, it affected me as I kept on wondering if it would ever get a chance to happen. I thought about how this was going to affect my husband especially since he desperately also wanted a family and spiritually, I knew God was the only one who could help us through this,” she said emotionally.
After doing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging test (MRI), it showed she had a small pituitary adenoma, which led to her diagnosis of Cushing Syndrome, which was suspected to be the cause of her infertility.
She explained that only she and her husband were aware of the diagnosis, and she did not want to inform her extended family or friends as they would all be worried.
In March 2019, Monique did brain surgery to remove the tumor. At this point, she was hopeful she would be able to conceive after trying again. However, it once again did not rule in her favor.
“In the deep parts of my mind, I thought this would be the answer to our problem but by June, only three months after, my follow-up brain MRI showed that the tumor had returned in the same place with the same size just as if I hadn’t done a surgery!” she exclaimed.
“I was crushed beyond words; how could this have happened? My only chance of beating this infertility was now back to square one,” she added emotionally.
Monique shared that her husband, whom she describes as a prayer warrior, had faith that God would deliver them at the right time.
“He was fasting and praying and challenging God that he needed to do something. That same week, he dreamt that an angel visited him twice and told him good news was coming in June, that baby was on the way. By the following day, I did the pregnancy test, and yes, I was pregnant,” she shared excitedly.
Monique was in shock, awe, and disbelief that she was pregnant all along. She shared that she took the pregnancy test roughly six times thinking it must have been a mistake, but she finally was about to get her heart’s desire. Though she and her husband rejoiced that they had got their breakthrough, her endocrinologist warned that the pregnancy would be risky.
“My endocrinologist upon learning about the pregnancy advised me against going through with it due to the many complications that could occur and the high risk of having a miscarriage, especially since my tumor was back and I would need to repeat surgery. I refused to take that option and decided to go through with the pregnancy knowing the journey wasn’t going to be an easy one.”
With prayer and faith, Monique and her husband were able to defeat the odds and are still celebrating their miracle. Today, the 37-year-old Jamaican is blessed with three beautiful children, a boy, and two girls. She shared that her journey with infertility has taught her that God is the one ultimately in charge of her life and every detail that comes with it.
“My faith has grown stronger in him and I’m a believer in the impossible,” she said thankfully.
She encourages women in similar situations to be patient, have faith, and understand that while things may not always work out in their favor, their blessings will come in different forms.
“It took me six years to see this desire for a child to come through, it may take you less or even more years, but keep on believing because when God is ready to release your blessing, he doubles or triples the amount,” Monique Grant-Rhoden said.
