Anaily Valderrama

One year after ending our fertility journey, I found myself standing in front of the Iguazu Falls. Their raw, overwhelming power felt similar to my childlessness grief. Relentless, infinite, overpowering. The incessant flow reminded me of a familiar feeling of drowning, pain so unbearable that it was hard to breathe… 

The water continued to fall and flowed away, finding calm after the thunderous roar of the fall. I began to breathe more easily, watching my grief flow away. Letting go of my pain and finally finding some peace. 

Just like those waters, I could move on and carve a new path. I now have a healthier relationship with my body, I can see and better appreciate the love around me, and I'm not constrained by any expectations on what I should do or become. I've taken the power of the Falls with me.

Becoming childless not by choice is not seen as a 'happy ending' but I continue to flow. I draw strength from the love that surrounds me and that I have for the child that never was. I make my own happiness. Relentless, infinite, larger than life.