I am many things. A friend, girlfriend, daughter, sister, aunt, coworker, volunteer. I am also 1 in 10. I am an everyday statistic of a silent, chronic illness called endometriosis.
Endometriosis occurs when the lining of the uterus grows in other places of the body, such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries or along the pelvis. Other symptoms can include infertility, hormone imbalances, fatigue - and along with suffering from any chronic pain, depression, anxiety and lack of sleep can occur.
I can’t call my job in the morning and say, “I can’t get out of bed today because I’m physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted.” I also have a hard time explaining why I carry a heating pad with me a lot of the time, or on days when I feel like I’m drenched in essentials oils to try and relax my muscles.
I hear things like, “Well you’ve already had surgery. Why are you still sick?” I’m on the waitlist for another surgery. Most patients have 5-7 surgeries in their lifetime to relieve the pain for short periods of time. “When you get pregnant the pain will go away.” What if I can’t get pregnant or if I don’t want to have children? “I’m sure there’s a medication for that.” After a lot of research, I’ve made the choice not to put some of the drug options out there into my body (and for good reason). Here I am. Being very real. Very open and nervous to share this with you. In this photo, I’m standing next to some of my artwork that I created to share my experiences and awareness about this disease.
This is my way of talking about this. Through creative expression of writing and painting. My something that I would normally only share with my “persons”. Thank you to everyone who came to the opening reception tonight of Life Without Mirrors. For those of you who are just hearing of this for the first time, my friends and I have a self portrait exhibition on display at the Kamloops Arts Council galleries until August 10th.
This is my portrait. Without a mirror.
Thanks for reading this, if you made it this far. Your support and words of kindness mean a lot to me. 📸: my one and only @corrytea2.0
#endobabes #endometriosis
