This is my request…no, my plea for help so that I can have a normal life again. This is going to be a long read, but please bear with me.

When I was 12 I began having pains and when I was 16 I had my first surgery. It was then that I was diagnosed with stage IV Endometriosis. Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women and can take an average of 9 years to be officially diagnosed, it is also one of the most common reasons for infertility. For most of you reading, I am fairly certain that you have never even heard of Endometriosis. For others that may have, there will be what most likely is some new information I hope you benefit from and pass on.

This is a picture with my mom & boyfriend before my first surgery in 2015. 


As some of my friends and family know I was
scheduled to have a surgery back in December of 2016. It was after a lot of research that I decided to cancel and began planning surgery with a more skilled surgeon. I have started this campaign because I have excision surgery scheduled for May of this year. However, I need help with expenses for travel, medical costs, food, and any other accommodations as my surgery this time will be in Atlanta, Georgia.

I know it sounds crazy, why would I travel almost 14 hours for a surgery? Well, I have found a surgeon who uses a certain surgical technique who will do what I have been told was impossible. He will be able to remove all of the Endo from my body and work on the organs that my Endo has been attacking & damaging for many years.

When I was 15 and the pain from my Endo began worsening I was faced with minimal options and no hope. I was told by my doctor at the time (which to clear this up is a very knowledgeable & tremendous doctor, he is just not a specialist in Endometriosis), that I needed surgery and that I would need many more in the years to come, as well as most likely needing to be placed in chemical menopause, and eventually an early hysterectomy.

When I walked out of the doctor’s office that day, at 15 years old I was scared to death. No 15 year old should ever have to hear those things. Better yet, no one with Endometriosis should have to hear those things, because all of those things he told me that day are false. A hysterectomy is most definitely not a cure for Endometriosis & it will not help to treat the pain either. Chemical menopause is also not a cure or an effective treatment. You see, I have learned the past few months that almost everything I was originally told about Endometriosis and treatment of it was wrong.

Endometriosis is tissue that closely resembles that of the Endometrium lining of the uterus. Endometriosis tissue is found in the pelvic & abdominal cavity and on vital organs. Its appearance can differ and it is a very difficult disease for the patient to live with & for most doctors to treat. There is not really a consensus on what causes Endometriosis. There is research that shows the Endo creates its own Estrogen and has its own gland system. I was told that it grows, but I now know that it does not grow instead it flares up. The hormone Estrogen is what causes the Endo to flare up, so in a sense it feeds itself causing intense pain and can lead to many other health problems.

Since the Endo feeds itself with Estrogen it produces on its own, the presence or absence of ovaries or a uterus does not have any effect on whether the disease persists. Also the ‘shutting down’ of the menstrual system in the brain through chemical menopause does not keep Endo from persisting or causing pain.

I have tried almost any birth control you can think of since I was 12, but the intense periods and pain throughout the month has persisted to no avail. 6 months ago, before I knew all of this I even reluctantly tried chemical menopause which gave me some temporary relief but I still had Endo pain. Not to mention that I had menopausal side effects & some chemotherapy side effects as well since it is considered a chemo drug.

There are several reasons I opted to have surgery with the excision specialist in Atlanta rather than the ablation surgery I cancelled back in December. A good way to describe a laparoscopy with ablation or cauterization via laser is that it only burns the very top of the Endo and leaves a vast majority of the tissue behind. This only brings some temporary relief and does not take care of the disease as a whole, which is why my doctor said that I would need continuous surgeries every couple of years. A good analogy would be that ablation/cauterization would be like removing the flower of a weed, but excision is removing the entirety of the weed & the root system as well by carefully cutting it all out. Also my doctor was not experienced enough to deal with the Endo on vital organs other than my reproductive organs to the extent needed.

During my first laparoscopy my doctor found Endo covering my uterus, my entire pelvic cavity, the uterosacral ligaments, the cul-de-sac, my rectum, my bladder, my bowels, my appendix, and other areas as well. Although Endo does not grow the disease and the flare ups can cause damage to the organs that it is on and can also cause adhesions that sometimes grab ahold of organs and keep them together. I also had this issue, I have a huge wall of adhesions that holds my appendix, my bowels, and my bladder together. My Endo causes me pain when I use the restroom, when I work out, when I run, and more often than not pain doing daily activities such as walking, standing, reaching, bending, etc. I don’t want to sound over dramatic here, but I am almost always in pain from this disease. Not only does it affect me pain wise, but it causes my immune system to be weak as it is always trying to rid my body of the foreign Endo tissue on my organs so I tend to get sick easier. Reaching beyond my physical health Endo also affects my relationships, my work, my schooling, and my emotional health. It takes a huge toll on me in so many ways and despite living with it for many years it has only gotten harder to deal with.

I desperately need this surgery because I desperately need the skill & expertise that this surgeon offers. For the first time since I was 12 I am not fearful of the great likelihood of not having kids, I am no longer fearful of an early hysterectomy or the more problems that would bring. And for the first time since I was 12 I can finally see a relatively pain free life on the horizon.  

The surgeon in Atlanta has gone over the extensive procedures that he will do while I am in surgery to ensure that I can live a life without Endo & all the havoc that it wreaks. His skill and expertise gives me great confidence in him as he performs these surgeries on a daily basis & conducts a research center on Endo as well. Many women have said that after their excision surgery they live pain free, their quality of life improves greatly, their relationships are not as strained, their immune system is better, and they are even able to have the children that they never thought possible.

I don’t like asking for help, I am pretty independent. If you know me you also know that I am pretty dang stubborn, but I am throwing away my pride & asking for help because I desperately need it. I need it so that I can function and focus on things other than Endometriosis. I will be sure to give updates after my surgery & throughout my recovery process. To all my friends, family, acquaintances, loved ones, or even strangers, it would mean the world to me if you could donate what you able & keep me in your thoughts.