tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89244270171593841002024-02-21T09:49:40.476-08:00End Endo BCErin Ross Coward is a 27-year-old Vancouver, BC woman who has been living with atypical endometriosis and fibromyalga since age 18. She is starting this blog as an information sharing tool for other women in Metro Vancouver and BC. Erin's mother Shirley Ross, a registered nurse, is supporting her in this initiative.End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-30915392997735646662012-03-24T17:47:00.000-07:002014-02-24T13:02:31.690-08:00The Little Men - Erin's poetic portrayal of life with Endo<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Little Men</span></u></b><u><span lang="EN-US"> </span></u></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The little people have returned,</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Marching up and down my veins.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Settled up against my bones</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Beginning their attempts of destruction. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">It’s a dull pain to start, </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I barely noticed they have sneaked their way in.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I was asleep when they showed up.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">It’s like an unscatchable itch under my skin. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">One in which you wish you had a fork to dig through the skin and flesh, into the torment where the pain resides.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">A steady rush to the end of my nerves sets off a spark.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Like a man with a welding torch, he annoys me by flicking it on and off. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I moan in anguish. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I must not let the pain drive me mad.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I cannot be touched now. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">My nerves are inflamed. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">My hands swell, my ankles grow.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Encouraged I return to bed. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I find the pill bottles waiting there. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">So many of them lined up like soldiers awaiting battle.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I look at them back and forth. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Which will numb?</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Which ones are the fastest? </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Which will poison the men?</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Will they always be drilling inside me? </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Pacing away, driving me nuts with pain?</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I pop one in my mouth and swallow hard. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I have no energy to move from bed and grab some water.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I build saliva in my mouth to push the morphine down. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I picked morphine from the rest. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Morphine-the strongest of my army.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The coating melts on my tongue, bitterness and chalk. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Swallowed it becomes stuck. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I massage my throat, pushing it down. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I push it down. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">That bitterness, it burns my throat. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I choke a bit. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The first hit. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The subtle high.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">It spreads from the head down throughout my wretched body. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I call it warm light.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Soothing and constant i</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">t fills my veins, washes out the construction men, their tools, their mess.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">For a few minutes I feel normal, minus the high of course.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The high. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Nothing is like it. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Nothing can top it to a person who lives with daily pain.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">It is the only reassuring thing one who lives like possess.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Without it, certainly one would wish to die.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Stiff as a board your're afraid to move. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Afraid if you do the pain will return. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Motionless I stare at the ceiling.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">When will it end? </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">It begins to return, that reoccurring dull pain.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I pop another and another…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">It continues. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I am alone and all I do is think. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Is this my life? </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">If I take one more will this nauseating pain end? </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Or have I been left here to suffer silently? </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Over and over again, the same thoughts, the same pills, the same battle.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Eventually, the pain will end, but it will be back shortly.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Like an addicted or love smitten court, it will return ambitiously determined. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The little men with their tools, noise and destruction. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The construction site, my body. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Their mission: to be noticed. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I muster the energy to move again. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The fight is over. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The dead silence hits me. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I start smiling again, but for how long?</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I am always on guard, waiting. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Watching for the signs of their return.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The question is when?</span></span></div>
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End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-87652887026161489042012-03-10T13:07:00.007-08:002012-03-10T13:13:17.432-08:00"Endometriosis hurts young women - like my stepdaughter Erin Ross Coward - more awareness needed"<div class="tagline" style="line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px 0.3em;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My stepfather <strong>Bill Tieleman</strong> wrote about endometriosis and my situation in his weekly Tuesday column in <strong>24 hours Vancouver newspaper</strong> and <strong>The Tyee</strong> online, as well as his </span><a href="http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">blog</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">.</span></span></div><div class="tagline" style="line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px 0.3em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="tagline" style="line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px 0.3em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
I really appreciate it - and all the supportive comments, emails and responses I got, many from complete strangers who want to help or just to offer their best wishes.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="tagline" style="line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px 0.3em;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here's the full column - your comments are welcome here and at The Tyee and Bill's blog. And there are live links to some good resources in the column as well - <strong><em>Erin Ross Coward</em></strong></span></span></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_uikicq7XHAi7z65qec061lYb9Wu-pHi03h3a_zNMLXJYAVyd0M4AnQDjCj91XTndy6iFPIKOnAIzSqyTOyzd6IJk6z_bDNbOCxydGc2E5Sww7NlYU5bLIm5T4qi-cOUIe25C6Zfa0c/s1600/Shirley+Bill+&+Erin" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_uikicq7XHAi7z65qec061lYb9Wu-pHi03h3a_zNMLXJYAVyd0M4AnQDjCj91XTndy6iFPIKOnAIzSqyTOyzd6IJk6z_bDNbOCxydGc2E5Sww7NlYU5bLIm5T4qi-cOUIe25C6Zfa0c/s400/Shirley+Bill+&+Erin" width="400" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shirley Ross, Erin Ross Coward & Bill Tieleman</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Find Out About Endometriosis</strong></span></span></span> <br />
<div class="tagline" style="line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px 0.3em;"></div><div class="tagline" style="line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px 0.3em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This invisible disease that badly hurts young women needs more attention.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bill Tieleman's <a href="http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/Columnists/NewsViewsAttitude/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2462a5;">24 hours</span></a>/<a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/03/06/Endometriosis-Awareness/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2462a5;">The Tyee</span></a> column</b></span></div><div class="tagline" style="line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px 0.3em;"></div><div class="meta" style="line-height: 1.1em; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.3em; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.3em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tuesday March 6, 2012</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>By Bill Tieleman</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"It is not a woman's lot to suffer."</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div><div class="meta" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.3em; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.3em;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">- Actress Susan Sarandon</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Opium, intravenous morphine, oxycontin, naproxen, Lyrica, hydromorphone, fentanyl, Lupron, cesamet, Visanne, cipralex, clonazepam and ibuprofen.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">These are just some of the drugs my stepdaughter Erin Ross Coward has taken over the past few years.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But Erin isn't addicted to drugs -- they were all doctor-prescribed to relieve the extreme and chronic pain of her <a href="http://www.endometriosisinfo.ca/index_e.aspx"><span style="color: #809806; text-decoration: none;">endometriosis</span></a>.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">March is the month <a href="http://endometriosis.org/news/support-awareness/endometriosis-awareness-2012/"><span style="color: #809806; text-decoration: none;">dedicated to awareness</span></a> about this surprisingly common but mostly unknown chronic illness that affects one in 10 women in varying degrees.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Endometriosis occurs when tissue like that which lines a woman's uterus grows elsewhere in her body, usually the abdomen.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">That tissue responds to the menstrual cycle like the uterus tissue does -- it builds up, breaks down and sheds.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But unlike during a period, this blood and tissue have no way to leave the body, resulting in painful inflammation and sometimes internal scarring or adhesions.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Many women mistakenly believe it is just "normal" menstrual pain and aren't diagnosed, but for others like Erin, the symptoms are far more severe. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And like many with endometriosis, Erin also suffers from <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079"><span style="color: #809806; text-decoration: none;">fibromyalgia</span></a> -- a disorder that causes widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Surgeries, injections, recurring agony</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">At just 27 years old, Erin has undergone five separate surgeries to remove endometrium tissue attaching itself to her internal cavities and even organs, making it still more challenging to remove. Each surgery has left her recovering for weeks afterward.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Erin has also made literally countless trips to the hospital for morphine injections when the pain is unmanageable with prescription drugs, to her doctor, gynecologist, massage therapist, acupuncturist and naturopath seeking relief. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The B.C. Medical Plan does not cover all of her treatments, making endometriosis expensive as well as painful.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Erin's pain is visceral and debilitating. The other results of endometriosis include serious fatigue, irregular and heavy bleeding, nausea, dizziness and depression.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">About 30 to 40 per cent of women with endometriosis are unable to have children, says the <a href="http://endometriosisfoundation.org/"><span style="color: #809806; text-decoration: none;">World Endometriosis Research Foundation</span></a>.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As Erin's parents, my wife Shirley Ross and I feel a very different pain from watching her suffer -- emotional and intense, with a sense of helplessness.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The chronic pain hurts us all. And there is no solution.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Out of the shadows</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In the past doctors believed either pregnancy or a hysterectomy would cure endometriosis but that has been disproven. Pain management is the only solution.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Erin describes her endometriosis this way: "It's like having the worst period you've ever had, every day of your life."</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And yet Erin is outwardly a beautiful young woman -- which makes it even harder for people to understand her "invisible" illness.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Too often someone has dismissed her devastating condition by saying, "You look fine to me."</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Erin has bravely not only faced the disease by trying her best to live a normal live but also writes publicly about it on her blog <a href="http://endendobc.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #809806; text-decoration: none;">End Endo BC</span></a>.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"I struggle to get out of bed, to hold a coffee mug without spilling or dropping it and even the simple task of dressing yourself can exhaust you," Erin wrote Saturday. "I am not bitter about living this way, I'd rather live then be dead, so I keep trying. Keeping my head above water is the plan."</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ironically, just as endometriosis awareness month started, Erin's plans to become a teacher were put on hold. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Erin was forced to take a medical leave from the University of B.C. because she is in too much pain to attend classes, so she must try to regain her health before resuming studies.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It's another unfair blow -- but Erin completed her bachelor of arts degree previously while fighting the illness, and plans to return.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Actresses <a href="http://www.endofound.org/video/3rd-Annual-Blossom-Ball-Susan-Sarandon/171"><span style="color: #809806; text-decoration: none;">Susan Sarandon</span></a> and <a href="http://www.endofound.org/padma-lakshmi"><span style="color: #809806; text-decoration: none;">Padma Lakshmi</span></a> are just two famous women who are speaking out about their battles with endometriosis and the need for more awareness, research and support for those who suffer from it.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As Lakshmi, host of Bravo TV's Top Chef and a former supermodel says, it's difficult for women to talk about the illness because of its intimate nature:</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"Endometriosis still isn't openly discussed. It's at the stage that breast cancer was many years ago," Lakshmi says. "It's never pleasant talking about such a personal issue."</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Learn more, hope for a cure</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We remain hopeful for a cure or just better pain relief for women like Erin who suffer from the most severe form of endometriosis.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"Too many are affected by this terrible disease and too many of us are not being loud enough to bring attention to it when it affects one in ten women," Erin writes.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But for now endometriosis is still a hurtful illness that deprives so many women of their ability to live life fully, have children and exist without pain.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So spare a moment to find out about endometriosis. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">With so many affected, everyone knows a woman like Erin who needs your support. </span></div></div><span style="color: #cccccc;">.</span>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-42757718061924147162012-03-03T16:44:00.001-08:002012-03-06T11:39:45.058-08:00Erin speaks out on Endometriosis!<div class="comment-content" id="bc_0_0MC">It has been a tough start to 2012. </div><div class="comment-content"><br />
</div><div class="comment-content">As most know from my blog I am a tough cookie, bring on the pain and I'll take it on like a trooper. I have never given up at any battle and leaving school is not something I am surrendering to that easily. Eight courses and a practicum is tough enough on a normal person, add three chronic pain diseases and it becomes an impossible trek up a steep mountain with obstacles, powerful rain and sheets of snow. I had no choice but to stop climbing that mountain, it was not safe for my health. </div><div class="comment-content"><br />
</div><div class="comment-content">Somewhere along that journey I seem to lose myself within school and the pain I fought daily that I barely recognize myself when I took a step back and left school. Getting lost in something you love is one thing but losing who you are because you lost joy in basic life, social and family and what about that time you reserve for yourself? It became too much. I had given up all for school. </div><div class="comment-content"><br />
</div><div class="comment-content">Too many times had I been told: "How are you going to be a teacher since your sick?" The weight of it all, resting on my shoulders was too much. Its so hard to look up when so much stuff is bringing you down. </div><div class="comment-content"><br />
</div><div class="comment-content">Well, I am still smiling and taking this in strides. I will not give up on what dreams I still have even if I may be sick and may never get better. Isn't true you look so much better when you smile? So, that's what I am going to do through all this. This is not the end, but the start of something else. I have to re define myself and find that part of me I lost. </div><div class="comment-content"><br />
</div><div class="comment-content">School will always be there and I hope that someday I will return and find steady footing within it but as of now, I have to once again look at my health. </div><div class="comment-content"><br />
</div><div class="comment-content">When you have three chronic pain diseases, everyday is a struggle. I struggle to get out of bed, to hold a coffee mug without spilling or dropping it and even the simple task of dressing yourself can exhaust you. I am not bitter about living this way, I'd rather live then be dead, so I keep trying. Keeping my head above water is the plan. Maybe I bit off too much to chew but one must always try and I had a dream and the drive. </div><div class="comment-content"><br />
</div><div class="comment-content">March is the month in which we try and raise awareness about endometriosis and I hope all of you will do your part, wear yellow, share information with friends or sport a yellow ribbon. <br />
<br />
Too many are affected by this terrible disease and too many of us are not being loud enough to bring attention to it when it affects one in ten women. <br />
<br />
Please try and give a bit of your time this month to raising awareness. I know I don't want to live like this forever, but if it is in the cards I will make do. </div><div class="comment-content"><br />
</div><div class="comment-content">What can I do? <br />
<br />
When put in an impossible place or circumstance all one can do is dream big and believe that things can change, that one day the pain will be gone and maybe I will awake to a new world full of endless possibilities, all that I am free to partake in without carring around a disease that seems to single me out.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">.</span></div>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-51171165253427599372012-03-03T12:09:00.000-08:002012-03-03T12:09:37.609-08:00March is Endometriosis Month! Please support all the women you know who suffer from this chronic disease by wearing a yellow T-shirt and adding your comments to this blog!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68nTZ6sXUb0oob4_W_wgKZvTO4JrRO4k3Nsgk__gwjTRvGC42wW5sUvCqHk11tr8wfHDWC2n4VWFXYW2BnXSjBM-hEkoAc3dQ8FGBBf6UcMnAalMuTI2g4NONMSBlp47oU24gRodgN74/s1600/IMG_3182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68nTZ6sXUb0oob4_W_wgKZvTO4JrRO4k3Nsgk__gwjTRvGC42wW5sUvCqHk11tr8wfHDWC2n4VWFXYW2BnXSjBM-hEkoAc3dQ8FGBBf6UcMnAalMuTI2g4NONMSBlp47oU24gRodgN74/s320/IMG_3182.JPG" uda="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Erin enjoying the sun last summer</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Since Erin's last post in October a number of events have occured. She tried a new hormone, just released in Canada this fall, but had to stop after one month as she developed the worst side-effects, including carpal tunnel syndrome and numbness in her hands and arms. This has only intensified the fibro symptoms and she has been playing with a combination of narcotics, anti-inflammarory drugs among others with very little relief. Reverting to her old hormones has also intensified the endo pain and bleeding.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But regardless of her daily pain, she was able to complete her first term at UBC in the BEd program. Unfortunately, she has had to withdraw from school this month and her love for teaching and children is on hold. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With the weekly support of her Gp, massage therapist, naturopath, boyfriend and other practitioners she will be trying to get to a place where she can function somewhat and start to enjoy life as she defines it for herself. Spending her life in bed is not an option.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All of you can help Erin! First by understanding the complexity of the disease by informing yourself. Secondly, by supporting those women in your life who have endo or fibro by acknowledging their limitations and supporting their abilities and integrity as fabulous people. And this month you can help by recognizing Endo survivors.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Let's make this world a better place for my daughter and all the other young women out there who deserve more!</span>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-32573728329826176232011-10-23T09:51:00.000-07:002011-10-23T09:51:32.561-07:00Confusing, Frustrating, disappointing!Today is my wonderful and amazing boyfriend's birthday. I planned a nice lunch with his friends and got him a huge cake and some sparkling wine. It was a wonderful day, even though the day before I had an attack after having the worst service at Whole Foods. I ordered a cake a week in advance so it would be ready the day before and all I would have to do is be in and out. Lately, getting in and out is about all I can handle. I arrive and they charge me for a small instead of a large cake which I didn't realize. <br />
<br />
After I paid they the tell me to go back in line and pay more, so I wait again. While in line I am looking at the paper which has the wording for the cake and they had spelt his name wrong to. It was a simple name and I told them five times on the phone the correct spelling. <br />
<br />
So now they have to fix the cake. Maybe for someone else this delay would mean nothing but to a sick person like me it was exhausting. No one even appologized until I found myself at customer service complaining; they did nothing to compensate me for their mistakes. It seemed like forever and a Friday at Whole Foods at 4 pm is literaly a nightmare! I kindly told the man what happened. He said sorry I will look into it and sent me on my way. I stood there looking at him, getting more upset due to the stress of even just planning any sort of event I began to bleed profusely - through my pants and so embarassed I am forced to run to the car.<br />
<br />
Today is my boyfriend's actual birthday. After all these events I am now too tired to even accompany him out on the town with his friends. I feel terrible. I feel like I am letting him down. I worry what will his friends think? They are still just getting to know me. <br />
<br />
I know he completely understands because he is a great and wonderful man who has seen what endo can do to me but most people have not. I just want to be out there with him but I cannot. This is sad. <br />
<br />
I am 26 years old and cannot go out on the town with my boyfriend for his birthday because my body will not allow me. I so desperately want to be there with him, instead I am lying in our bed cramping, bleeding and crying from the pain. And then the disapointment that I am not normal and endo wins again. <br />
<br />
What a life sentence. I never get a day off and I can'teven particapate in normal activities. I feel like I am a prisoner in my own body. I just so want to be there with him! <br />
<br />
Erin Ross CowardEnd Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-77876386949857096152011-10-12T18:04:00.000-07:002011-10-12T18:04:26.598-07:00Confusing, frustrating and disappointing!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"><b>W</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"><b>ow, it has been a very long time since I wrote.</b> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">Life has been so confusing, frustrating and disappointing. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">After months of being on bed rest too sick to function, I was given the chance to have my fifth surgery in August. I had to go through several doctors to finally return to Dr. Catherine Allaire. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">She is the best in town by the way after visiting many great doctors. After many scheduling difficulties I was given a day, which then was canceled and rebooked. To the woman who gave up her spot for me, thank you. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">I had been told in the summer I had been accepted to UBC for a two year program in the Education department in Elementary studies. I was so excited. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">I had worked so hard to get my first BA in art history and had dreamed of returning to school to become a teacher. The woman who gave me her spot saved me from having to have my surgery in the fall which would have meant I could not proceed with school and my dreams. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">Well, the day came and after five hours waiting hooked up to an IV I was told there was not enough time to do my surgery. I was heartbroken. My new boyfriend and I cried as he helped me get dressed. It felt like my life was begining to cave in on me. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">My dreams were disappearing and the thought of spending another month or two in bed horrified me. The next day I decided to just go to the ER and make them do it. I was lucky Allaire was there and I got my surgery. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">I had to stay in the hospital for a few days to recover which is usually rare. After my release I found out that I had a bladder infection and the hospital had forgot to tell me or treat me. I ended up back in the hospital. Finally I was on the road to recovery! Then another road block. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">In my first week of school I lifted a book bag which was too heavy and I ripped my ab wall near my incision. I ended up missing school and had to go back on meds. Meds in which I had worked extremely hard to get off of after the surgery. I felt helpless. I thought I was going to be kicked out of the program.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">I have not yet but it is always in the back of my mind. Then my bleeding started up again. The surgery did not work. I was so upset. Most of my endo was removed except for a piece that was on my bowel. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">It was too dangerous to remove it. So now I have worry on my hands. What is wrong with me? This is not my Endo flaring up, I have been told my gushes of blood is something different. I just had my cervix cauterized, which is extremely painful. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">Again I am missing school. I am so afraid I am going to loose my spot in the program and my dream will be gone since I have a disease that I cannot control. Everyday I worry will I bleed. I have spent months thinking positive but now I am filled with worry. I work so hard at school and I never give up. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">I hope they do not give up on me. I keep trying to believe everything will work out but as some of you know, when you aren't in control of your own body anything can happen. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">-Erin Ross Coward</span>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-43113512023886622662011-08-10T10:08:00.000-07:002011-08-10T10:53:04.377-07:00Erin's latestSince the beginning of this year Erin has been living daily with severe chronic pain. She has also been diagnosed with adenomyosis which has caused a further increase in pain and bleeding. Due to thes factors she has been unable to work at all and spends a great deal of her time at home resting.<br />
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After a number of brief ER experiences, a plethora of narcotics and other drugs, along with all of the alternative therapies. she is now opting for surgery on August 17th under the skill and expertise of Dr. Allaire. We are hoping that this will alleviate the adhesions and growths from the adenomyosis and reduce her pain. Removal of the endo will occur as well. <br />
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Thanks for all of the support and I hope for a brighter future!End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-86486826603679329522011-07-18T10:22:00.000-07:002011-07-18T10:22:02.722-07:00Coming soonUpdate on Erin's healthEnd Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-68864418657449728172011-03-16T16:50:00.000-07:002011-03-16T16:50:40.202-07:00World Endometriosis Society launches first ever video for endo week March 11<h4>The World Endometriosis Society (WES) today launched a film to help an estimated 176 million women across the globe to recognise symptoms of endometriosis before their long-term health and quality of life are affected.</h4><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vice-president of the European Parliament, Diana Wallis, urged women to take action:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Don’t be like me. Don’t take no for an answer. If you feel </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">something is wrong </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you could have endometriosis</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. There are things that can be done to help you. Go and get advice, but also make others aware, because I don’t want you to end up like me”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Diana Wallis had a full hysterectomy</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, as a newly wed; an operation that could have been avoided with earlier </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">diagnosis</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and treatment</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> of her endometriosis. She was never able to have children. Today, she urges young women not to compromise their fertility, like she did, and get help – and treatment – early.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Check it out!</span><br />
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<a href="http://endometriosis.org/news/general/first-ever-awareness-film-on-endometriosis-launched-by-world-endometriosis-society/">http://endometriosis.org/news/general/first-ever-awareness-film-on-endometriosis-launched-by-world-endometriosis-society/</a>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-18593166612666998652011-03-05T19:08:00.000-08:002011-03-05T19:08:06.593-08:00Endometriosis Week March 7 to 13, 2011 affecting 176 million women worldwide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__i82QbXHtAg_GbpWh32yWI2kIUeBOozsccgPVY944sKAUfBk_Vxvsaadgfzxqn09xcEwgKPWaY4tUb5QeF1RCB8ff-wpTY-zeXFmiky6M8JnMa75JT2crCyAkC6FTLT2atLff01U-Ew/s1600/endo+month.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__i82QbXHtAg_GbpWh32yWI2kIUeBOozsccgPVY944sKAUfBk_Vxvsaadgfzxqn09xcEwgKPWaY4tUb5QeF1RCB8ff-wpTY-zeXFmiky6M8JnMa75JT2crCyAkC6FTLT2atLff01U-Ew/s200/endo+month.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">March marks Endometriosis Awareness around the globe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Endometriosis Awareness Week is an annual event which gives women with endometriosis a real focus to raise awareness regionally, nationally and within local communities. Please check out the link below to find out more and support women who are struggling with this disease and wear yellow in support!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.endometriosis.org/endometriosis-awareness-2011.html">http://www.endometriosis.org/endometriosis-awareness-2011.html</a>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-40470724621621954072011-02-18T22:28:00.000-08:002011-02-22T18:19:59.819-08:00Georgia Straight newspaper features End Endo BC & Erin Coward's story <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuCRp3S65dNsppg0I8aMNzzDkiPth7UNdZalcikC6Xw_YI8qx4u8n2wdELVm1yAqDJEeIMRoFFgsKKBxdK7DH4YHawR99y-2pTT8myN6FRqFh7ByFOl8iR4wTXnRRH4FC1-gYB-WgXD8/s1600/Erin+-+Georgia+Straight+Feb+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuCRp3S65dNsppg0I8aMNzzDkiPth7UNdZalcikC6Xw_YI8qx4u8n2wdELVm1yAqDJEeIMRoFFgsKKBxdK7DH4YHawR99y-2pTT8myN6FRqFh7ByFOl8iR4wTXnRRH4FC1-gYB-WgXD8/s400/Erin+-+Georgia+Straight+Feb+2011.jpg" width="292" /></span></em></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Erin Coward - Georgia Straight photo </span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Many thanks to the Georgia Straight weekly newspaper in Vancouver and health columnist Gail Johnson for their </strong><a href="http://www.straight.com/article-374700/vancouver/awareness-brings-end-suffering-silence"><strong>excellent article on endometriosis</strong></a><strong>, featuring Erin Coward.</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can read the article at: <a href="http://www.straight.com/article-374700/vancouver/awareness-brings-end-suffering-silence">http://www.straight.com/article-374700/vancouver/awareness-brings-end-suffering-silence</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We really appreciate all the kind comments from all around the world and hope this will be the start of creating a support group in Vancouver!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em><u>Erin says:</u></em> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks again for all the support and sharing your stories with me and others. I have been sick for over a week and I'm sorry for the late response. I hope in a few months we may be able to collectively, if your comfortable that is, come together and create our own support group. Maybe even meet face to face and help each other deal with our suffering.<br />
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I can tell you I have been through the ringer. Just came off all my opiates and have been dealing with an Endo attack with no masking of the pain for the first time since I was 18. It has been extremely scary and painful, but I was on so many meds and it was time for me to look at alternative ways of dealing with my pain again. This is not easy for anyone. I can tell you, I've cried everyday since stoping the drug therapies. Many people who have been present this week say they can see a different person in me since I've stopped taking the drugs and I see it too.<br />
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I know this is not a complete long term option because the pain is so sever, but I'm at least going to try and make a go of it. I have a great support group and wonderful friends who have been there this week encouraging me on. I guess this is going to be a new journey for me. I know I can't control the pain, but maybe through alternative medicine I can find new ways of trying to make peace with my pain. I guess i'm ready to feel now and not be doped up all the time. There is no other option for me I can't return to the ways I've been coping, because it was too deadly and made me a whole other person. If you can find the strength to do it, please try. I can tell you from the deadly experience I faced, sometimes drugs aren't the answer. <br />
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It totally sucked going through this last week. What has kept me motivated is that I'm not alone and hearing all of your stories. If you say to yourself you can do it, you can do whatever you set your mind to do. I've been telling myself this all week. I can do this. I can fight this. My grandma Ellen, if she were still alive would be incredibly proud of me and as we all use to tell her, "Your a tough old bird," I can now say I'm a tough young bird for trying this. <br />
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Please keep going and maybe one day we won't have to be in so much pain and suffering. Maybe one day there will be answers. We can only get these answers if we all keep pushing for them, so don't give up, find the strength to push through your pain. The answer is out there, we just have to find it and we can only do that by sticking together and not giving up.<br />
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Erin </span>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-76685278238314031232011-02-12T20:42:00.000-08:002011-02-12T20:42:26.896-08:00Thanks - from Erin Ross Coward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqw7t_6ur0Jgvc76ZWd2owxcCM9eV_CRd8V95rv_HarCRY739wLhvPWM_2C5IhuvGeWPmidkeUWXyQOi2p2zHOi0wFDDzMx1ZfvQPsfSl4shcPbdqvu6zIfzFnAp1A_4Ye3xKlKMswM0/s1600/Erin+-+contemplative.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqw7t_6ur0Jgvc76ZWd2owxcCM9eV_CRd8V95rv_HarCRY739wLhvPWM_2C5IhuvGeWPmidkeUWXyQOi2p2zHOi0wFDDzMx1ZfvQPsfSl4shcPbdqvu6zIfzFnAp1A_4Ye3xKlKMswM0/s320/Erin+-+contemplative.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi Everyone:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>I just wanted to first say thank you for the first few blogs and support. I want to let everyone know that there isn't enough being done to increase awareness of this disease. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>By doing this blog, I hope we will be able to reach out together, share experiences, medical and or holistic treatments, but also create a better awareness of this horrible chronic pain illness that effects many women on an everyday basis. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>There is not enough being done to create awareness and understanding about the disease and I can only hope that in time, we can all share our experiences and get the word out there so that maybe one day there will be a cure. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>Right now Endo suffers are stuck to turn to drugs to mask the pain. This just gets us through the day and its not a solution but a band-aid to that covers the problem for a short time. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>Our pain is constant and the flare ups are a million times worst. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>When people ask me to explain to them the pain of having Endo I say: "Imagine everyday of</span> <span>your life you have the worst period you have ever had, now times that by ten and you have Endo." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>Many of us resort to treating the Endo through drug therapies (some of which are extremely exhausting and have horrible side effects - I personally lost 22 pounds in one week after taking the drug Lupron, had hair loss and terrible headaches). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>These treatments can be very draining and the failure of them frustrating. Sometimes they will work for one person, but not for another. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>Then there are surgeries. I have had four to remove cysts and scar tissue. The problem with this is that it helps for a few months, but the scar tissue eventually grows back and so comes back the pain. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>Please spread the word. There is no support group in Vancouver and I hope that within time and with this blog we can create one. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>I also wanted to note that I would like to include in this group other diseases of chronic pain that affects females, since there are so many other chronic illnesses that can accompany Endo. I have two others now and may have a another. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>Thank you for all your support and please continue to spread the word about the blog. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I have had many operations, tried numerous treatments and am taking many meds to control the pain. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>I have also tried holistic treatments and yoga/meditation. Right now I have a team of five different kinds of doctors working on my case to ease my pain. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>I know various medical and naturopathic/holistic doctors and can try to answers your questions as best as possible. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>I hope together we can make this blog a success and find a way to end Endo or in our life time control the pain factors and find better approaches to treat this disease </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>- Erin Ross-Coward</span> </span>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924427017159384100.post-75936231884681908552011-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:002011-02-04T12:00:35.417-08:00Welcome to End Endo BC! Please bookmark this blog and keep checking in for support on endometriosis<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi everyone,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome to End Endo BC - a new blog for women to connect with one another who are living with endometriosis and other chronic pain syndromes. Currently there are limited options for local young women to chat to one another about thier diagnosis, treatment options, lifestyle changes and successes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been fortunate to have a great team of medical and alternative practitioners, as well as a supportive family and remain hopeful that by sharing our stories collectively we can become strong enough to overcome the challenges we face daily.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please join me in this search for pain free health!</span>End Endo BChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11769842655281440469noreply@blogger.com27