2017 was a life-changing year for me. It was a year that I finally had two surgeries that helped to drastically improve my quality of life. Both of these surgeries were for endometriosis and its co-morbid conditions. You can learn more about my experience in previous posts that I wrote as I immediately went through the experience.
This disease has hugely impacted my life. In the midst of that life-changing year, thoughts of a book that directly addressed vital information percolated in my mind. For decades I'd been met with poor treatment, misunderstanding, dismissal, and inaccurate information. All of these things delayed diagnosis and proper treatment. Knowing that my situation isn't a unique one, this book is my message-in-a-bottle to all of the Endo Warriors. My goal is to help others receive accurate and necessary information in order to find the treatment that is best for them.
Endometriosis is probably impacting many more people that you know. In my own case, if someone had recognized the signs and symptoms early on, things could have been very very different. Let's make sure it's different for the next generation.
For a year-and-a-half I pondered the best way to approach this book. Finally, in 2019 I began writing a survival guide for living with endometriosis and it's related conditions. This is the book I wished I'd had from the time I was a preteen. I've lived through disease myself, known it all too intimately from the inside, and now I'm determined that others will have the tools, knowledge, and support that wasn't available to me until very late in the game.
I'm so excited with what this book is becoming!
This resource is for those who have (or are supporters of those with) endometriosis. It lays out the facts, shatters the myths, and provides foundational knowledge that gets us out of the dark. Beyond that, it presents stories from those within this community: patients, family and friends, specialists, and movers-and-shakers. An entire section is also devoted to how you can be your own best advocate, how we can advocate for one another, and how we can create the change that is drastically needed. I can't wait for you to have this resource in your hands.
As we move through March this year I had good intentions for Endo Awareness Month. But between continuing to work on writing this book and the overwhelm of concerns around COVID-19 throughout the world, I had to give myself permission to let those good intentions go. With the in-person marches canceled, I even lost track of the date and missed the virtual March yesterday.
The couple of things that I did achieve this month were participating in this EndoWhat? Campaign to support Endo Awareness among school nurses, as well as registering as a member of The Endometriosis Association. I started a new Instagram account (@thewarriorsguidetoendo) dedicated to endometriosis awareness, and started following so many fellow Endo warriors there.
If you're looking for some way to participate in Endometriosis Awareness Month, here is a super easy (AND FREE) way to participate, and pretty please do!
In this initiative, you submit name, email, and address for a local school nurse. From there, EndoWhat? will send a free toolkit out to them to make sure they are informed and able to watch for signs of the disease in the students that come to them. I've submitted for D. C. Everest high school and junior high in WI. I challenge you to submit for a school near you, and to share this post to get others involved, too.
THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES!
If you'd like to receive notification for when this endometriosis survival and advocacy guide is available, please subscribe to my website.
Finally, I will leave you with this fun note:
When you search "EndoMarch" in preparation for the upcoming Worldwide EndoMarch 2020, and find a picture of yourself at the top of the search results (ha!)
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