speaking up

"Sometimes getting pregnant can reduce the symptoms and provide some relief"

-- Actual professional medical advice offered to 21- year old Andie

"But don't wait too long;
Because this can impact your ability to fall pregnant naturally;
And may cause infertility"

I was a Uni graduate ready to commence my career;

I was not yet engaged but I will always wonder if perhaps this diagnosis fast tracked the process which saw me upgraded from girlfriend to fiancé;

Soon after the engagement party I had my first laproscopic surgery.

I'm now well over- due for my third.

'Endometriosis' 

I'd never heard of it before.

The surgery was the only way to know for sure if the diagnosis was correct.

And yes - More than one of my doctors suggested pregnancy as a means of 'managing' the condition.

This is the first time I am telling my story in a public forum.

Why??

Because March is
E N D O M E T R I O S I S
A W A R E N E S S   M O N T H

And it's taken me 30 days of the month, to build up the courage to complete this post and hit Publish.

But that's the point of an awareness campaign, isn't it?
To shed light on a topic.
Start a dialogue.
Encourage open communication and education..

Society doesn't like to talk about 'female problems' so endometriosis not a medical condition I admit to suffering from despite it causing near-constant discomfort and crippling pain more often than once a month.

It is a difficult condition to describe to anyone who has not experienced it.

Sometimes a picture can convey the pain more accurately than I can explain it -

Very pissed of fire breathing dragons.

With knives.
And machine guns.


The pain can be so extreme and debilitating that it literally incapacitates me.

As a result, it is a huge contributing factor to depression.

It is rendering women infertile.

And yet, I still feel like it is not a legitimate reason to call in sick to work.

O N E  in  T E N   W O M E N
S U F F E R   F R O M   E N D O M E T R I O S I S

So I am simultaneously caught between thinking I should shut the fuck up and not complain; 
And
Talking about it until I am blue in the face, 
So that maybe others also suffering in silence will feel they can share their story too.

Today I am choosing to talk about it.
To share my story.
And the stories of others.
Because knowing I am not alone truly helped me.

They gave me permission to be kind to myself.

They made me realise I am not crazy,
And the pain is not normal.

They allowed me to accept that it sucks,
But it doesn't mean I am broken.

And neither are you.

"Be kind to yourself on the bad days"

And remember this :

Alexandra Elle

xx

international women's day

Today is 
I N T E R N A T I O N A L   
W O M E N ' S   D A Y

It is also a week in which media (and social) commentary has been focused on the future of the Clipsal Grid Girls.

Following a heated debate on the weekend with a dear friend, whose opinion I often share on many an issue - I wasn't sure if I wanted to voice my opinions on either of these topics. 

There are women far more eloquent and definitely more passionate than I, to discuss these issues. From both sides.

And so I decided to carry on, as if it was any other day.. because, I thought to myself, if women want equality we should not be satisfied with just one day on which we are to be celebrated or have a voice.

This, by the way, echos my opinions of Mother's Day being the sole day to appreciate Mother's; and likewise Father's Day's purpose to remind us of our appreciation of our Father's - We should be thankful and grateful 365 days of the year.

Oops.. I guess I'm not very good at keeping my opinion to myself after all. 

(And for the record - I think the Grid Girls add atmosphere and entertainment value to a very long, and often uneventful car race. They are to Motorsport, what the tinsel is to a Christmas Tree - not 100% necessary, but pretty to look at, and certainly not doing any harm. If you think the role of the Grid Girl is derogatory to women, then I hope you didn't buy a movie ticket to watch Channing Tatum take his clothes off in Magic Mike. Admiration of the human form - it's all in the name of entertainment, is it not?)

I don't want to stand on a feminist or anti-feminist soap box and make sweeping claims, because it's just not my thing... 
Although the influx of Girl Power quotes on my Instagram feed today has been interesting to observe.

I just wish that women were always this supportive of each other - in life and in business.

"We live in a society that wants to pit women against each other,
and it's our job to resist the tyranny of that"
- Lena Dunham

So, on International Women's Day 2016, how about we start to make a concerted effort to celebrate each other on the remaining 364 days of the year?

xx