Endometriosis Is a Part of Me, but It Isn't Who I Am
Who are you? I am a writer. I am an artist. I am the girl who laughs hysterically when she is nervous. I am the girl who will dance and sing obnoxiously out of tune just to make my partner laugh. I am a dog mom and a cat mom. I am an aunt, a daughter, a sister, a friend. I am so many awesome things!!
We can get so wrapped up in our illness that we forget our worth. We forget the things that make us who we are. Many of us may try so hard to be heard and to be taken seriously that we forget we are human. That endometriosis is a part of us, but it isn’t us. It may be hard to see it through the rough days, but we are still many things.
I will never introduce myself as “the endo girl” again. I will never be dismissed at the dinner table again. I will never sit there and let someone make me feel like my voice doesn’t matter. Like my day doesn’t matter. Like my pain doesn’t matter.
I will never let someone tell me I’m not sick anymore if I try to enjoy my life. I will never let someone’s opinion of who I am dictate who I am. I will never let anyone tell me my dreams won’t happen. You see, nothing I did or didn’t do caused my illness. It just happened. And although my illness has no cure and I am in pain every single day, I am still human. I’m still allowed to have a life. I’m still allowed to have dreams and goals.
I rise up every single day despite the negativity and the expectations people have for “chronically ill” people. I still try to live my life even when people tell me if I was really sick I couldn’t do this or that. Well you know what… I’m freaking awesome! I’ve lived with pain every single day since I was 12 years old. I’ve woken up every single day even when I had plenty of reasons to throw in the towel. I did it even when I felt like life was working against me.
So who are you? Big or small, I want to know. I want to know who you are. Not that you have endometriosis, but who you truly are. What makes you tick? What keeps you going?
My Name is Gage Paslay and I am 27 years old. I’ve been struggling with this invisible illness called Endometriosis since I was 12 years old. It’s chronic and I deal with pain everyday. There is no cure for it so it will forever be a part of me and it’s something i’m going to have to deal with for the rest of my life. I have good days and bad. It takes 7 plus years just to receive a diagnosis and its often misdiagnosed. Over the years i’ve received different diagnosis and i’ve been on countless medications and treatments that haven’t worked. Luckily, I was finally diagnosed correctly In December of 2016 by laparoscopy, the only way to determine if you have it or not. However, it made my symptoms worse and I am now looking into excision surgery. My blog is really about bringing awareness to this debilitating chronic invisible illness. 1 in 10 people assigned female at birth have Endometriosis and so many of them haven’t received a diagnosis yet or they are waiting to have another surgery. Endometriosis impacts people in almost every aspect of their lives. How, when and if we can have children. How our cycles work and how long they may last. It gives us pain sometimes so debilitating we can’t even get out of bed in the morning. It messes with our mood. It also impacts our relationships with family and friends. It sometimes overpowers us and defines who we are. So this page is about me speaking out for myself and for everyone struggling from any kind of chronic illness. You aren’t alone. Together, we have each other. I know what its like to have no one, to feel like you are stuck in a dark hole and no one is willing to pull you out. I’ve been there. I want to show light to people who are struggling, I want to encourage others to speak up and stand up for themselves. This disease shouldn’t define us and it shouldn’t control us. You shouldn’t feel guilty for being sick because it’s not your fault. I struggle everyday AND i’ve survived every bad day I thought I couldn’t get through..I’m rising up everyday and so can you. If you’re interested in finding out more about Endometriosis, watch my videos, read my blogs and follow my journey. If You are a Endometriosis Warrior like me, follow me. Share them with your friends and family. React to them. My voice is one in many but I’m determined to make sure its heard. This is me taking a stand against anyone who has ever told me “Its all in my head” or “I’m overreacting” or “It ’s just period cramps”. #I’llRiseUp.
gagepaslay