Today in my blog, I wanted to share a special post about my trip to New Jersey to learn more about Endometriosis. A dear friend of mine who runs a nonprofit organization for Endometriosis called the LELA Foundation told me about the Endo Summit taking place this past weekend in Hoboken, NJ. I was so compelled to attend as I have suffered from this condition since my first menstrual period. It has been quite the journey for me as it has been very painful to the point that my energy and quality of life have been diminished at least for a week every month since I was 11 years old. It has been a long journey for me because since I was little my family never knew these painful periods had a name and it was going to cause me so much pain throughout my life.
I was told I had endometriosis when I was suffering from an increasingly debilitating pain that did not let me walk and put me in bed in a constant and really horrible painful state. I went to my OBGYN for answers and he indicated to have a vaginal ultrasound to find out more about my painful period. After my exam was done, they indicated I had five cysts the size of lemons and most likely I had endometriosis. They also warned me that I may not be able to have children, but there was a surgery called Laparoscopy that could remove all my cysts via excision and remove my endometriosis, therefore, increasing my chances to have a baby.
I went ahead and did it and not long after we were able to welcome our little bundle of joy. I also felt much better after the laparoscopy surgery, but I was told I may need to have another surgery to clean my system a lot more. In this process, I have learned more about my body, my condition and this motivated me to share more about life living with endo so others that may be going through the same can relate to their own situations and feel hope. I wanted to write this post to let you know there are resources available for you to learn more how you can be an advocate of your own health. It really makes a difference when we take charge of our health and work with physicians to understand our part in the process.
I learned many things from this summit. First, medicine is way too far from finding a cure and in the process, the research is still in the beginning stage. There is a lot more that needs to be done as 1 of 10 women have Endometriosis and over our productive life as women having this condition does not make life easier, but painful and overall we carry this feeling of not being heard and understood. I met wonderful people, surgeons, therapists, and ladies like me that are taking control of how they feel and sharing their thoughts. I think it is so important to be open to talking about this and it was so empowering to be there to know I am not alone neither are you.
I am sharing with you links to multiple sources of information that I feel will help you greatly and hopefully will connect you with the knowledge we need about our condition. Just click on all of the links in this post to learn more about the professionals I met and who are working really hard to make changes in our community. I hope this post will help you to remember you are not alone and it is important to take action and spread the word to avoid our future generations to face the challenges we had at their age for not knowing this information.
Please feel free to contact me via social media and continue to share this information! Juntas hacemos mas! Together we can do more!
Let’s continue Shaking the world, One Heel at a Time!
Much love!
Stefani Gamboa
