'I'm getting a hysterectomy for my health - but my sister has selfish demand'
Sometimes, you need to put your own health first.
We all want to be there for our loved ones, and many of us would go above and beyond to help out a family member in need. But sometimes, you have to put yourself first, even if that means letting down someone who could really use your help - especially if it puts your health at risk.
This is the scenario one woman has found herself in after she said she was getting a hysterectomy for health reasons but was asked by her sister to delay her surgery so that she could do something for her first. The woman explained she is currently pregnant with her third child but has already booked a hysterectomy for after her baby is born.
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She said she has "extremely painful" periods and has struggled with them since she was nine, and the only reason she hasn't already had a hysterectomy is because she knew she wanted children. The woman noted that while her kids are definitely "worth it", delaying her surgery has been "torture" on her body, so she's eager to have the procedure.
However, the woman has now been asked by her older sister to consider delaying her hysterectomy so that she can be a surrogate mother for her sister's children. She claimed her sibling is "struggling with infertility", and while she was initially against the idea of using a surrogate, she now wants her sister to do the honours for her.
In a post on Reddit, the mum said that if her body was fit enough, she would have offered with no questions asked, but she doesn't know if she'll "survive" if she puts off her surgery for even longer so that her sister can have children.
She explained: "I told her I was so sorry and if my body wasn't giving me the hell it is, I'd do it for her, but I couldn't delay it any longer. She got upset but told me it was fine, and she understood. She'd get over it. I could tell it bothered her, but I didn't want to fight about it."
Things took a turn over Christmas, however, when at a family gathering the woman's brother-in-law accused her of being "selfish" for not helping them start a family of their own. He claimed she had "broken her sister's heart" by refusing, and it took the woman's husband and her mum stepping in to get the brother-in-law to stop shouting at her.
She added: "Afterward, my sister told me she was sorry about her husband, but they were just so upset, and they felt robbed of having a baby biologically related to the two of them. I told her I was so sorry and I was here if she needed me."
In the comments, people were firmly on the mum's side. Many said that while they empathised with her sister's struggle to have children, she is not "entitled" to her sibling's womb - especially when it puts her health at risk.
One person said: "Your body, your choice. The possibility of you dying far outweighs their need to be biological parents. You are NOT wrong in getting the procedure done if it increases your quality of life." Another added: "Your sister is surely aware of how much you've suffered through your periods since you were a child. How incredibly selfish and insensitive to ask or demand that you suffer any longer."