When February came, I had to put all my resting aside and journeyed back home for my work travel assignment. Wondering if it went well? Of course it did. I really had an amazing time at work also. The contract was good and everything turned out perfectly for me. I had little to know issues at the beginning of the year and everything seemed to be just fine.

By May, I was ready to move on and I had started preparing for my upcoming surgery which came up in July.

Last year September, I diagnosed myself as having “endometriosis”. Somehow, My body had been battling with endometriosis for my entire life. I had gone to different doctors but none of them were able to diagnose my real issue for me. They had all failed to. So, I had to read and make research on my own before I could successfully get to know what exactly I had been battling with for a really long time. Sadly, it wasn’t a small issue. I had Endo! Not just an ordinary one, but one with rare complications!.

Although, Endometriosis accounts for 1 in every 10 girls but only one in a million girls can have the issue of the kind of rare complication I had. It wasn’t easy for me. It wasn’t easy at all.

July rolled in quick and in no time, I had my surgery. It was important for me to go through the surgery in order to finally have a better health. Painfully, it wasn’t easy after my surgery  either. My recovery had happened really slowly accompanied with surgical pains and all.  I had to keep my faith and kept praying for my mighty Lord to give me strength to successfully go through the process. And thankfully, by his grace, I’m having the strength. 

There’s something about empathy. The way you sympathize hits different when you’ve gone through the same situation. I’ve been there before so I can tell that endometriosis isn’t an easy thing to go through, especially one with rare complications like the one I had. Then, I decided that one day, I will speak to the remaining girls in order to bring awareness. There should be one less girl to suffer the kind of rare complication I had suffered. If possible, there should be none at all.

Endometriosis is a disorder that affect females. It happens when the tissue that normally lines inside the uterus grows outside the uterus. Every year, about 10,000 women between the age of 15-55 years old are diagnosed with endometriosis. It is a chronic disease associated with severe, life-impacting pain during periods, sexual intercourse, bowel movement, fatigue, depression, anxiety, infertility and so much more.

 It is important for every female to have an early access to diagnosis and effective treatments before the complications get severe just like or even more than the one I had suffered.

Unfortunately, early access to diagnosis and treatment is limited for a lot of females especially those in low and middle income countries.

I have decided to carry out more research and raise awareness to the girls around the world as this helps in prevention, early diagnosis and improved management of the disease.

It is my wish for the number of girls who go through this every year to reduce drastically because of how chronic the disease could be, most especially if you’re alone. It would have been worse for me if I had no one by my side but thankfully my wonderful mother cared for me and stood by me each step of the way. With my boyfriend also standing by me and never for once giving up on me, I am well assured that all is well.

Imagine how bad it would have been for me if I had no one to care for me during a period like this. The rest of the year awaits. There is still a lot to accomplish and greater things aligned.