I've asked Lauren Hansen Clark to share her story because she knows it best . . .

Three and a half years out from my last excision surgery, I am preparing for my fifth endometriosis surgery. Between September 2021 and December 2022, I had four surgeries for endometriosis, half planned and half unplanned.

Endometriosis is a chronic disease that affects one in ten women. There is no cure for this whole body disease. It is characterized by tissue resembling the lining of the uterus growing on organs and tissues in the body. These adhesions create their own blood supply, nerve endings, contract, bleed, and can cause organ dysfunction. It is an incredibly isolating, painful and disruptive disease.

I make a living running a small business where I work on clients as an esthetician. Due to the nature of my work and living with endometriosis, I have to scale back on clients, causing loss of income. Overall, I have missed about six months of work due to surgeries, flares, illness related to endo, doctors visits, and ongoing physical therapy.

There are currently no excision specialists in Montana, creating the need for me to travel out of state to obtain the surgery. Due to the low payouts from insurance companies for long endometriosis excision surgeries, many endo specialists do not run their surgical costs through insurance. Between time off from work, my surgeon’s fee, and my max out of pocket, I am looking at about $32,000. I am working to supplement my loss of income through service specials at my business, but it is not feasible for me to raise enough to cover this initial projected cost.

My goal with my Go Fund Me is to cover my surgeon’s price, and my max out of pocket

amount. My hope is to help alleviate financial stress on my family, we have been through this four times, and it definitely has left our family in hefty medical debt. If we could avoid this or even lessen it, it would make a world of difference.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read a bit about my journey, I truly appreciate it!