“I have intellectual disabilities, but also a dream. And I’ll make it come true”
Raquel Manzano He is 44 years old and one intellectual disability 65% recognized And he tells us about his story on the occasion of Mother’s Day. During much of his life he worked as a waitress, until anxiety forced her to stop. But what has not stopped a single day is his greatest desire: being a mother. For two years, you fight with courage and determination to reach it through an assisted reproduction process. Accompanied by his partner, Manuel, and with the support of his family and the Tutelary FoundationRaquel became the first woman with intellectual disabilities treated in her fertility clinic. Now, he faces a second attempt after an early abortion, convinced that his dream is close. Raquel disgusts his story with clarity and strength that does not require ornaments: just be listened to.
From a young age, Raquel Manzano was clear who wanted to be a mother. At 20 he felt that desire already, although the circumstances did not allow him to make it then. “It has never been the right time,” he recalls. Now, with 44 years old, an assisted reproduction process has been launched decisively with his partner, Manuel, with whom he was over 17 years old. Both share the same dream and is clear: “Or now, or you can’t”.
Raquel had to face not only the difficulties of the medical process, but also The aforementioned fear that your intellectual disability can close the doors. “It was the first time that a woman with intellectual disabilities arrived in the clinic. I was afraid that they would only throw me back for this,” he says. Therefore, when they asked for medical relationships and made a psychological test, he lived those days with a mixture of tension and hope. “I approved the test and they told me I could continue. From there, everything went on, “he says.
They treated me like any other woman
Has not heard discriminationHe says. “They treated me like any other woman,” insists. In his clinic he performed all the usual tests and There were no differences in the treatment. Even in the most difficult moments, like when the first attempt did not thrive and suffered an abortion, he felt supported. “From the Social security They were the first to call me when they saw that something was not going well. They were always with me, “explains Grateful.
With the May rule Be able to start a second attempt to transfer embryonicwhich will probably arrive in June. Raquel confesses that the worst is to wait for the next 15 days, that limbo between illusion and uncertainty. “They become eternal,” he says.
During the process, he also had to take breaks. In one of the most difficult moments, anxiety took it. “They told me that in that emotional state I could not continue with the treatmentSo I stopped a few months to recover “, recognize.
Raquel is not alone. He has the unconditional support of his partner and the protection foundationThis has accompanied her since she was 18. “They helped me with everything, they even accompanied me to the first medical event to say that I wanted to be a mother,” he explains. In fact, it was the Foundation that also supported the medical relationships that Raquel had the full ability to take on motherhood.
Everyone has the right to be happy and to realize their dreams
“Everyone has the right to be happy and to realize their dreams,” repeats firmly. “It also depends on the ability of each personBut if a woman with disabilities can, why don’t you do it?
Raquel is not foreign to painful comparisons. He has friends and I know with disabilities who have already been mothers. And yes, he recognizes that sometimes feelings of sadness or envy aggravate him: “You wonder why they do it and don’t do it, when you want it even with all your power”. Even so, he also finds inspiration in those examples: “I have a friend with intellectual disabilities who has two children. I see her play with them, talk to them … and that gives me strength”.
His desire is to have two children, even if he says that with one he would already be completely happy. He moves the illusion, the certainty that is possible and a profound belief that no one should tell him what he can or cannot do. “I have always been clear that I wanted to be a mother. Only the moment was missing. And now it has arrived.”
Raquel not only fights for her, but also For all those women who, like her, dream of being mothers and face social prejudices. “Let them fight. Don’t let anyone tell them what they have to do. If they are their dream, they have the right to try.”
Pending the moment of the new embryonic transfer, it is prepared both physically and emotionally. He knows that the road was not easyBut it’s also worth it. “What costs me, what should happen, I will do it to get my dream,” he concludes.
Raquel Manzano continues to walk, stopped, towards that goal Who is waiting for since he was 20. And he does it with the quiet force of who knows that the desire to be a mother does not understand the diagnoses, but of love.
