Frank’s Story

I was first married in 1957 to a woman who was one of 5 kids.  I was one of 6 kids, so we looked forward to producing a large family.  After two years of non-pregnancy, our family doctor told us my wife’s physical anatomy and condition were normal for child bearing.  Then we found that my sperm count was good, but motility was extremely limited, and the possibility of my fathering a child was nil.  I was devistated!  I felt like I was not a complete man! 

We decided to adopt since raising a family was why we got married.  My wife’s older sister was already adopting so we had great guidance into this procedure   It took two years before we “earned” our first son.  Later we opted for another boy so our first would have a playmate.  Then we balanced our little family with two priceless girls.  All four came into our home while they were new babies, the youngest being 3 weeks old, and the oldest 3 months.

Life was good to us until my wife underwent radical mastectomy for breast cancer at age 36.  Now she was more devastated than I.  Her ailment was visible each time she saw herself in a mirror.  She didn’t even want me to look at her.  After the operation, her body suffered the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  She was in much pain and required many pain-killing drugs  To avoid addiction or other side effects, we got her oncologist doctor to approve our investigating accupuncture for pain relief, even though he said it was border-line “voodooism”. 

When we investigated the possibility of acupuncture, among the listed benefits, we found treatment for hay fever. I was horribly afflicted with allergies since I was a teenager, and I received no relief from allergy shots.  I depended heavily on antihistamine drugs.  I accompanied my wife to her acupuncturist for my own treatments.  After 5 or 6 treatments I no longer had to ingest hay fever pills.   Joy, oh blessed JOY! ! !  Our acupuncturist was Dr. Tao from China.  In addition to his practice, he taught at CU school of medicine.

My wife was more comfortable with the acupuncture, but died at age 41. Her old cancer spread to her pancreas and then to all major organs.  By then our kids’ ages were 8 thru 16.  Now you may be wondering why my story covers so much of my wife’s cancer and not so much of my infertility.  I was nearing my second marriage a couple years after my first wife died.  I decided to check my fertility so we wouldn’t get any surprises later.  The doctor told me I was as virile as a horse, and asked me if I wanted to do something about it.  Obviously, he didn’t know the motivation for my re-testing.

I read somewhere that antihistimines could possibly contribute towards infertility.  It had been over 7 years since I quit using them, thanks to accupuncture.  I was then living proof that those pills were causing my sperm problems.  I was at last a MAN again!

And that, dear friends, is the complete story.  You won’t have to wait for the rest of it.  I have had two great marriages, and four wonderful & loving children who have given me 12 grand kids and one great-grand son.