Former SmackDown Women’s and WWE Women’s Tag champion Carmella has been off television for almost three months now, reportedly for a head injury. Today (Oct. 31), which happens to be the last day Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, she shared the story of what else she’s been dealing with since last we saw her.
Carmella, whose real name is Leah Van Dale, wrote that she suffered a miscarriage in September. She and husband Corey Graves got pregnant again, but after 12 hours in the emergency room over the weekend with abdominal pain, she was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy. That’s when rather than attaching to the lining of the uterus, a fertilized egg grows somewhere outside the uterus. As the egg grows, it can burst and can cause life-threatening bleeding for the mother. Such an egg is never a “viable” pregnancy, as it can’t get the blood supply and support it needs to grow when it’s not in the uterus.
Research indicates that 1 in 50 pregnancies is ectopic, and that 10-20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. Still, many who experience the loss of a pregnancy feel alone and ashamed. That’s one of the reasons Carmella wanted to post her story.
I’ve gone back and forth with myself about posting this because I’m not looking for any sort of sympathy, but since today is the last day of Infant Loss Awareness month, I wanted to share my story.
Today, I was treated for an ectopic pregnancy. I never thought something like this would happen to me, especially after suffering from an early miscarriage in September. Nothing can prepare you for this news after getting a positive pregnancy test. I was cautiously optimistic this time around after the early loss I had already experienced, but was hoping for the best. I spent 12 hours in the ER on Saturday when I started experiencing some sharp pains on my left side. After several tests and ultrasounds, I was given the devastating news that this was, in fact, an abnormal pregnancy.
The reason I’m sharing all of this is because in the moment it feels so isolating. Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about this? My husband and I watched @ilizas new comedy special last week and she spoke openly about her miscarriage. I immediately burst into tears. She went on to explain that we should be speaking more openly about this topic so we, as women, don’t blame ourselves and think there’s something wrong with us. I want to do the same. I’m part of this statistic and it’s happening to me.
Again, I’m not looking for sympathy, I know I’ll eventually recover from all of this mentally, physically and emotionally. For anyone dealing with ANY type of pregnancy loss, I want you to know your feelings and emotions are valid, there is NOTHING wrong with you and you are not alone.
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