Help Mary with her endometriosis surgery

Hello, my name is Mary Duplantier and I am fundraising to help pay for my endometriosis surgery on May 6. For those who don't know what endometriosis is, it's a disease where tissue similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows on the outside of other organs and bleeds internally each month with your period. Overtime this causes painful lesions and scar tissue to grow along the outside of other organs, and left untreated, can eventually lead to the formation of large cysts and/or scar tissue so deep that it can even start to bind and twist other organs.

My endometriosis story started at age 11, and I have since then have been fighting tooth and nail to get a diagnosis for almost 15 years now. For years I have suffered from debilitating pain, so severe that some days I cannot even stand myself up, forcing me to crawl on my hands and knees just to get to a bathroom. I have traumatizing memories of falling down the stairs and collapsing on the floor, crying in pain, just trying to get a glass of water, only to go back and lay in agonizing pain for hours, sometimes days, month after month after month. The pain caused by this disease is so intense it is frequently accompanied by dizzy spells, blurred vision, nausea/vommiting and even sciatic nerve pain. In addition to the pain, this disease also causes severe fatigue, brain fog, painful bloating/gas cramps, and severe digestive issues. Over the past year, my endometriosis symptoms have started to effect every aspect of my life, also leading to depressive episodes and frequent panic attacks.

For years I've known something wasn't right, yet have been told by more than 10 doctors in the last 7 years that it's all in my head and the best they can do is put me on birth control and/or antidepressants. It wasn't until this year that I even knew what endometriosis was, even though it effects 1 in 10 women.

This past winter my symptoms got so severe I could hardly travel for gigs anymore or even practice the harp. The bleeding was so heavy and would last sometimes for 3 or more weeks at a time, it left me constantly light headed and fatigued, and the pain was unbearable. It was at that point my doctor finally referred me to a surgeon and I was scheduled for a laparoscopy this past January.

During my procedure they found multiple cysts along both of my ovaries as well as an endometriosis lesion along my intestines. My surgeon, however, was not specialized enough and did not feel comfortable removing the lesion because of the risks with it being so close to the bowels. During my post op he was very dismissive of all of my questions about treatment and once I recovered from surgery all of my symptoms came right back, almost worse than before, so I then started searching for a 2nd opinion.

I first found a highly recommended surgeon in St Louis, only to discover he was not covered under my insurance. Mind you this was also after waiting for a month and spending hundreds of dollars on just a consultation.

After a lot of research I finally found a wonderful surgeon here in Cincinnati who specializes in endometriosis and minimally invasive surgery. By the grace of God a spot opened up on his waitlist and I was able to schedule a surgery with him for this month. During my pre op he looked at my previous surgery photos and suspects my endometriosis is hiding in several other areas that my first surgeon wasn't able to find. On Monday I will be undergoing another laparascopic surgery to get all of the endometriosis lesions cut out and my surgeon is optimistic that this procedure will give me some pain relief as well as relief from many of my other symptoms.

The money raised from this gofundme will help with the roughly $1500 in medical bills from the last few months and also to help me to pay my bills while I'm recovering from surgery. I am having to cancel all of my gigs for this month and will have to take a couple weeks off from my desk job as well while I'm recovering. This money will also help with the several weeks of work I lost from my first surgery this past January.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to my story. Please consider donating to help me pay for this surgery so I can focus on my recovery. If you're not able to donate, please also consider sharing this to raise awareness. Thank you! <3