Although COVID-19 caused many troubles, I would like to share with you my story during the worst time of the pandemic (March 2020 till January 2021). My name is Danijela, I live in Montenegro in the small coastal town called Kotor. The coronavirus period brought me a little struggle, a great victory, and immense joy.

Shortly after the lockdown of the country and in that initial period when the coronavirus was still a total stranger, most people in my environment, guided by fear of the unknown, clammed up. For many people, the period of isolation served as a time to reconsider their own decisions in life, and this was the same for me.

Working in the maritime industry for the past couple of years, I haven’t had enough time to truly stop for a moment and imagine where I am going and whether I like my own path. Considering all the decisions made and the life I lived, I realized that I would love to be a mother and that I want to expand my family. Even with the uncertainty that COVID-19 brought, I was overwhelmed with the feelings I have never felt before – the desire and love for a child. Both thrilled with the idea, my husband and I set out to make our dream come true. After our great life decision, we were enjoying walking the empty streets and sitting on the beaches as if they were left only for us. Smiling like a couple of teenagers under a mask, the hard time of the pandemic passed us by. All that madness from TV breaking news, the number of infected, hospital measurements, etc., nothing affected us, we lived in our own world at that time.

However, it was not as easy and fast as I expected it to be. After a few months of trying, I was already worried and decided to go for a check-up. Going to the doctor during the coronavirus time without having a coronavirus was difficult and people thought that I was being selfish because the coronavirus was considered a priority in the hospital. Discouraged by long lines, switching from one doctor to another, going to another city for basic analysis, I started to believe that motherhood is not meant for me and that was really hard.

I replaced news related to COVID-19 and information about the pandemic with my research on what other analysis I had to do. I also got looks from the medical workers who almost asked me: “Why do you want a baby now?” Everything became so exhausting and while everyone was talking about the virus, I just wanted to get pregnant….!

And one day in December, my wish came true!! The moment when hope was almost gone, after months of fighting, even though all the analyses were fine, I did a test that showed the best results ever! I am currently expecting my first baby and we are looking forward to everything that awaits us even with the COVID-19 pandemic or without it.