Demi shares her experience of diagnosis and finding support and friendship within the endometriosis community.
It wasn’t an easy road to getting a diagnosis – even after knowing it for years. I went back and forth to the doctors, but as time progressed, so did my pain and symptoms. I had to educate myself and be my own advocate.
I finally got my first surgery in April of 2022; it was such a bittersweet moment. I finally felt heard and seen. As days went by after my surgery, the sadness began to creep in. The realisation of “it’s going to be with me forever” and all the what ifs...
I was diagnosed with stage 3 endometriosis, it was found both inside and outside of the pelvic region. I’m currently in a position of waiting for tests from a thoracic surgeon, I am experiencing a whole new range of symptoms, so it feels like every part of me right now is suffering. I’m scared of what’s to come and I’m scared of what’s going on inside me.
But above all I am so proud. I am proud of myself for fighting to get answers, my fifteen-year-old self is proud of how I didn’t give up, I’m proud of how I manage to still get by and I’m proud that I have become the strength that I didn’t know I carried.
I have been welcomed into a beautiful community, the endo community is there for you on those days where you have questions, need advice, and I have genuinely gained so many new friendships. Being chronically ill is something I still struggle with, but I am grateful for what this journey has taught me, about women’s health, about myself and about so many other people. I still have a long way to go, but every now and then I stop to remind myself how far I’ve come and how I’m still smiling.
