Endo March and Updates.

This year's Endometriosis Awareness Month was one for the books. The last few months, actually, have been very hopeful and uplifting. It seems like every day, more information is being shared and people are slowly understanding what endo is and how it affects the lives of so many women and their families.

Padma Lakshmi had a small segment on ABC's The View, where she addressed the "Why Should We Care About Endo" question with grace, poise... and as much detail as they'd allow her to go into without interrupting her - haha. Huge exposure on a show that reaches so many women. Such wonderful progress!

I heard about two different news segments about women with endometriosis, sharing their experiences too! And you may have seen the commercial about endometriosis that has been being shown on networks like E! and Lifetime. It's for a specific research study, but the facts are there, the word is there.. if I had seen that commercial when I was 13 years old, I would have had a name for my pain 9 years earlier than I did! Gives me so much hope for the young girls who are currently hurting with no answers. Speaking of that, I was asked to share a bit about my journey to a diagnosis over at Covalent Magazine last month! You can find that article here.

The second Worldwide March for Endometriosis also took place in March, with people all across the globe marching to show their support and get the word out about this debilitating disease.

Several months ago, my family and I registered to walk in Palo Alto. Ironically (but not surprisingly) I wasn't able to make it to the march due to a bad endo flare-up. But that afternoon, my mom and I put on our walkin' outfits and carried our signs for a very short walk near our house, just the two of us and Toby. And I found comfort remembering that all the people marching at the big events were doing that for me. They were marching for all of us who weren't able to march. Walking for those who are in too much pain to walk. The rest of the day, I was happy to browse Instagram and see people all over the world participating. Hopefully next year I can make it to one of the big marches (How about Jamaica?!  This one looks so fun!) but for this year, I'm content with our own tiny little parade.

As far as my personal endo battle goes…

If you haven't already seen this news via Facebook or Instagram, I'm applying to have surgery at The Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta, Georgia! I'm so excited, nervous, and anxious to hear back from them to find out whether or not they think I am a good fit for surgery with their specialists. This is the most hopeful I've felt about a treatment in a long time and I've heard nothing but good things from their previous patients so keep your fingers crossed for me please! If they decide to take me on as a patient, I hope to schedule my surgery for this summer, so I can watch my class graduate into big kindergarteners before I head to Georgia for a bit.

Having this potential surgery to feel hopeful about has been quite beneficial - especially these last three weeks, which have been pretty challenging. These days, my pain is constant and harsh. After missing a week of work and still not feeling much better, I decided to go back despite my desire to curl up into a ball and cry - ha! To get through my days, I wear a Thermacare Heat Wrap under my clothing and stay seated as much as possible (not easy when you teach 5 year olds) but once I get home I can barely muster the energy to wash my hair or brush my teeth before taking some medicine and passing out with my heating pad.

I'm constantly struggling between wanting/needing to take care of myself, but also wanting to push through the pain and not let it affect my life so much. That balance is something I'm still trying to figure out. If you've got it mastered, holla at your girl with some tips. ;)

To follow along with more endometriosis related stuff, you can find me on Instagram. @end_oh
Hope you're all doing great and feeling fabulous.
xo