I'm Confidently Facing My Future Now - by Naveh Riles

Hi, my name is Naveh. I am 28 years old. I was diagnosed with TS when I was born. From the beginning, I dealt with some health issues. I had to have two surgeries; one on my heart and one on my kidney. I had a coarctation of the sparta and a cyst on one of my kidneys. The doctors didn’t have an opening to operate on my heart and gave me limited time to live.

My parents prayed and then doctors came and told my parents they had an opening to operate. Later, I had to have my kidney removed. Both were fine when I was an infant. I have been fortunate to be healthy since.

As a teenager, I struggled more emotionally and with my self-image. My struggles with my self-image did not start until I hit the age of puberty. All of my friends’ bodies were changing and mine wasn’t. Because I was still focused on just being a kid, it didn’t affect me as much, and I’m grateful for that.

I was very aware that I was different. I struggled with friendships and was more self-conscious than others. Now as an adult, I feel like TS is taking more of a forefront in my life. I am 28 years old and marriage and children is constantly on my mind. I’ve known for a while that I was not going to be able to get pregnant, but now that I am at the age where these things happen, I am thinking about it a lot. I’m always thinking about my future and what my options are. I’ve never been in a relationship either, so I feel like I’m behind. I wonder if I will ever be able to meet someone who will accept me and everything that comes with the TS.

Although TS has impacted my health, fertility, and my social interactions, I am pretty independent now and am lucky enough to have gone to college and grad school! I am so much more confident in myself and am thriving overall.

My goal is to be a perinatal social worker and work with pregnant women and babies. I have struggled with my self-image/esteem, but I am more sure of myself and see TS now as a strength and not a hinderance to meet my needs and reach my goals.