Health

My only daughter has been battling endometriosis for almost 3 years.  In 2017 she had reoccurring pain and ended up at the emergency department on a regular basis. No physician could find the source of where her pain was coming from. After many trips to the emergency the doctor on duty finally ordered an ultrasound that detected a mass measuring in 7 cm on her right ovary. Not even a month later she was scheduled for a laparoscopic surgery. During that surgery her right ovary was removed completely as well as the solid mass. Fortunately, the mass was benign but they had discovered endometriosis which is a disease in where the body doesn't expel your monthly period completely. It remains inside your body cavity and develops lesions called endometriomas which can develop inside the pelvis including  all organs and in rare cases can even reach the brain and eyes. 
After Kerynda's first laparoscopic surgery she unfortunately got much worse than before she had the surgery which was a huge shock as the gynaecologist who did the procedure had said her pain would be gone and her life would go back to normal. The surgery resulted in  severe nerve damage which created pelvic pain that radiates around her back and shoots down to both her legs and feet. Most days she could hardly get out of bed, she was completely dependent on us as parents and what broke her heart the most was having to let go of her job as a psychiatric nursing assistant/health care aide and let go of the patients she cared for so dearly. 
Soon after the first surgery we went to gynaecologist after gynaecologist and nobody seemed to listen. We felt like a number not a human being and the sooner they could get us out of their office the better.
All Kerynda wanted was to go back to work, run like she had enjoyed every summer and go back to school to enhance her career by pursuing nursing. Everything was taken away from her because of endometriosis and the nerve damage from the first surgery. 
Finally, we had been referred to a gynaecologist that seemed to have compassion for Kerynda's situation and was willing to help her manage her pain and get the disease under control. Treatment after treatment, prescription after prescription we had absolutely no luck. A second laparoscopic surgery was done by her new gynaecologist where she was able to burn off some of the disease which is called ablation surgery. Unfortunately, this procedure creates scar tissue which creates more pain and in the end the disease always resurfaces. 
The last treatment her gynaecologist had to offer was a drug called Lupron. This is a chemotherapy drug for men who have prostate cancer and is wrongly used to deal with endometriosis which has been repeatedly proven. Essentially it would have been shutting down her entire reproductive system and putting her into early menopause at the age of 27. The side effects were shocking and the drug was only to be used for six months total. After the treatment the disease and pain would resurface. 
After researching and trying to find some kind of solution to Kerynda's chronic, debilitating pain we stumbled upon a woman suffering from the same problems as Kerynda in Brandon, Manitoba. She had went to California and met the  top leading surgeon and specialist in endometriosis, Dr. Cook. While she was there Dr. Cook performed a surgery that is called excision. This procedure, instead of burning off the lesions caused by endometriosis, Dr. Cook excises(cuts out) the disease and therefore has a very low percentage rate of the disease ever resurfacing. This Doctors knowledge, years of experience and success rates with this procedure are completely miraculous. He is giving woman lives back just as I hope he can give my daughters life back. 
My daughter is feeling completely defeated, myself as a mother is feeling completely devastated in watching her suffer in pain everyday.
Anyone that knows Kerynda personally knows she is the most empathetic, kind hearted and genuine person you will ever meet. All she wants to do is get healthy enough to return to a career that she adores helping people who need her and  who absolutely adore her back and miss her tremendously. As well as to raise awareness for woman suffering in silence with this awful, destructive disease and educate the public and erase the stigma surfaced around endometriosis. Every woman struggling with this disease is a warrior and we just want to give her the opportunity to get her life back so she can help others not go through this alone. 
Every single penny counts and we are so grateful to have the opportunity to meet with Dr. Cook and get support from friends, family, our community and people who can make a difference in making this dream for Kerynda a reality. 

From the bottom of our hearts,  we thank you for your support in getting our daughters life back.



If anyone doesn't feel comfortable donating money directly to the gofundme page please call myself, Valerie Boudreau at 2048700829 and we can arrange another means of getting donations.