Fighting through Pain to Live on Purpose
By: Angeline Lawrence
We fight for everything from equal pay to health care. Fighting goes along
with the territory when you are a woman. Over 176 million women are
fighting a silent war that is upending their lives. It crosses ethnicity/race,
age and socio-economic levels.
Endometriosis is hard to detect and often misdiagnosed. The physical
pain and emotional strain are ever present in the lives of women who
suffer from it.
It hits women in the prime of their reproductive lives and impacts women
and girls from age 12 to age 60. The symptoms mimic other conditions.
Getting the correct diagnosis is vital to early detection. Endometriosis
occurs when tissue like the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) is
outside the uterus and found on other parts of the body.
Michelle Johnson, Founder of Fighting Fiercely Endometriosis Awareness Expo
Michelle Johnson, is a licensed massage therapist, author and endometriosis advocate. She fights for others who have the same disease that robbed
her of the left side of her uterus. She states, "I had heavy menstrual cycles
since I was a teenager. I accepted the pain and heavy flows as normal. But,
the pain intensified and I started to bleed through my clothes. When the
time between my periods decreased I knew something was wrong."
24