It’s difficult to sit down and write this- with fear of publicly sharing such an intimate health issue, and shame in asking for help when there are so many other people needing financial assistance within the current climate. On March 17th I’ll have a 12cm fibroid removed from my uterus. Due to the size of the fibroid (anything beyond 10cm is considered large, the size of a grapefruit) it will be removed via abdominal myomectomy. The goal of the abdominal myomectomy is to preserve the health of my uterus and avoid a full hysterectomy.
In December of 2025 I woke up one morning with a full bladder, unable to pee. This was the first physical symptom I experienced as a result of the growing fibroid I was then completely unaware of. My primary care doctor did a urinalysis to screen for a UTI, pelvic inflammatory disease, bacterial overgrowth and everything came back normal. The following week the same symptom returned and I called my doctor to schedule a vaginal ultrasound. Hearing the results of the ultrasound was when I learned of the mass in my uterus, which has been pressing against my urethra and bladder.
The following months have been a rollercoaster of learning about my body through followup ultrasounds, OBGYN appointments, meeting with a laparoscopic surgeon, then being referred to a myomectomy surgeon, having an MRI, blood tests, and iron infusions (to reduce the risk of a blood transfusion during surgery). Because of the size of the fibroid it can not be removed laparoscopically and thus the recovery time will be significantly longer, 4-6 weeks. I’m asking for financial assistance to help cover the burden of already taking off so many days for preliminarily doctors appointments/surgical planning, as well as the month+ I’ll have to take off to heal from the surgery. Truly anything helps. If you’ve read this far I love you, thank you for caring. If you’re unable to donate but still want to help I would appreciate any meal dropoffs, book loans, handwritten poems, movie recommendations or just hello’s. Thank you again for reading xx