Regina's End to Endometriosis

Hey guys!  Thanks so much for checking out my GoFundMe page.  For those that know me, you pretty well know my story.  For those that don't, let me start by saying my name is Regina and I'm one of the 1 in 10 women who face Endometriosis.  

For those who said "Endo What?!", Endometriosis is when endometrial-like tissue (similar to that which creates the lining of the uterus) is found outside of the uterus in various locations within the body.  It thickens just like the typical endometrium does during a woman's cycle, and it causes me chronic pain - ranging from 3 days to 75 days duration.  During a flare, my pain is extremely intense and it requires a lot more energy to do the 'normal' things that people do from day to day, including getting out of bed.  I'm unable to gain a good nights' sleep because the pain constantly wakes me, and I've yet to find a pain medicine that actually takes the pain away.  

I began being symptomatic of Endometriosis from the time that I was 14 and I've had quite a bit of trips to the ER for the intense and often debilitating pain that is associated with it.    Of course at this time, most OBGYN's were unfamiliar with the disease, so it was made out to be 'all in my head'.  I knew that was not the case and I actually self-diagnosed myself from the time that I was 16 (thank you internet for helping me).  

At the age of 21 (2008), I underwent an exploratory laproscopy to check for Endometriosis because I had finally found a doctor that didn't ignore my pain.  I was diagnosed as having Stage IV - meaning that I had A LOT of Endometrial growths outside of the uterus.  This was the cause of all of my pain.  It was lasered off and I was told I'd have 2-3 years before it came back; instead I had about 6-8 months before the pain came back.  

I knew that I couldn't keep doing the surgery, so I learned to cope with the pain the best that I could.  I made dietary changes, began exercising more, sleeping as much as I could when I wasn't hurting.  This was all that I could do since like I mentioned before, there was no pain medicine that helped.

Anyways, now that you've read my medical history, the reason that I've set up this GoFundMe page is because I'm seeking to have Endometrial Excision Surgery at the hands of a Endometrial Excision Specialist.  Endometrial Excision is a surgery where the specialist goes in with the DaVinci robot and removes all of the disease by it's root in EVERY location that it's at; not just from the uterus and ovary as happened during the laproscopy.  In doing a consult with the specialist, it appears that the Endometriosis is not only on my uterus and my ovaries, but also my fallopian tubes, bladder, bowels, and all in the pelvic region; it also affects the nerves to my legs.  So basically, when my pain hits, I feel it from the abdomen down.   

Just the doctor's fee itself is $5,000.  This is before insurance; I must first pay out of pocket, and then go round and round with the insurance company to seek reimbursement.  I set the goal as $8,000 because I know that the hospital will have fees as well, and I wanted a little bit of extra help to cover that upfront.My goal is to try and have my surgery by June 2017.  I figured this is the perfect time since I'm a teacher and I have summers 'off'.  It would allow me the opportunity to receive the Endometrial Excision and heal before I have to return to work in mid-August.  

Most of you who know me have seen how greatly my pain affects me - from the tears that are uncontrallably streaming down my face to the numerous times I've had to cancel plans because I just didn't feel well and couldn't move.  You've seen me try so hard to be strong as I'm trying to hide my pain, and you've seen my dedication to never give up.  However, you also know that the fight is wearing me down in so many ways, hence why I'm seeking assistance in raising funds for the surgery.  

I would be so grateful to anyone who helped me to reach this goal of having surgery by June 2017.   It would be money donated to a very good cause - especially since I cannot even rememeber a time when I was pain free.  Not to mention that this surgery could actually increase the likelihood of me ever being able to have my own children (from less than 10% currently to greater than 65% post Excision).  

If you feel it in your heart to help me reach this goal, just know that you are blessing me greater than I can ever imagine.  I do not even know how I would be able to express my thanks to anyone and everyone who helps.  Also, please feel free to share this page with anyone you know;  just getting my story out there and raising awareness for Endometriosis would be amazing.

Thank you all so much for reading this page.  God bless you all!