“It’s not just bad period pain It’s a chronic illness that can take so much from our lives not just physically, financially with the average cost for an Endo warrior being $30,000 per year. It’s taken away my fertility but it will never take away my strength to keep fighting it”. A very dear friend of mine approached me and asked if I would be interested in doing a bangle to raise awareness of Endo. I'm not a sufferer myself but I know plenty of Wonder Women who do suffer. I have seen the impact it has on their lives, their choices, and their relationships. Endo is a prevalent disease affecting 1 in 9 women, making it as common as asthma or diabetes, but with little funding, recognition and so much stigma. I reached out to our wonderful BE community – I knew we would have many warriors and I wanted them to share in their words how Endo impacts them. “Hey, endo sufferer here. Spent 12 years being misdiagnosed, changing diets, IBS regime, & indescribable pain” “Hi endo sufferer here!! Suffered for 20 odd years and ended up needing ivf to have my son and hysterectomy at 28” “What about people who have EVERY SINGLE SYMPTOM AND SIGN of endo and have been asking Drs for 16 years to take them seriously but still being pushed aside and told ‘this is just how you are’. Yes, crippling pain and borderline anaemic every month is quite normal apparently.” “I want people to know more about Endo, we deserve to have better care, a shorter diagnosis time frame on average it takes 7-12 years to be diagnosed, we live with chronic pain daily but just on our period I had major surgery in 2019 needing my ovary, tube and 20cm of my bowel removed due to Endo Financially it’s crushing People who live with endo are the strongest people I know x” "Long history of endo - had pretty much everything said to me from your too young, it’s in your head, harden up it’s just a period to have a baby that’ll fix it. Multiple surgeries for treatment and test case for drugs.” BE supports everyone being unapologetically themselves. This bang is for all the Endo Warriors out there. We see you We believe you We are in awe of your strength and determination Where we shine a light, things change. Nikki xx
