Oct 1, 2021Member-onlyThree Years.I realized this week that it’s been 3 years since I evicted my uterus. 3 years. That’s the approximate time it would take to walk around the world if you walked 8 hours a day every day. It’s been three years since I last menstruated. Three years that I’ve taken…Health10 min read
Jan 5, 2021Less and More.Hot waves of panic lick my diaphragm. It’s 5AM and I know it’s going to be a bad day. I can’t afford a bad day. I owe three pieces of writing and my very full time gig starts back on Monday. But it doesn’t matter because I don’t get to…Health6 min read
Oct 18, 2020Member-onlyHope is A White Whale (But I Need It)I went to the Emergency Room this week. I REALLY didn’t want to. Partly because we’re still in a global pandemic (yeah sorry, I know you were hoping it was over. It’s not… so pull your damn mask over your nose.) Even though precautions are being taken at hospitals and…Endometriosis14 min read
Aug 11, 2020Member-onlyThe Chronic Gap in the ‘Stronger Together’ Movement.“Your tele-health visit is scheduled for Friday at 11:30am. Please be prepared to answer a call from <insert human voice> at the scheduled time…” It’s not the first time I’ve heard this robo-voicemail message punctuated with a single human-spoken word since the world changed in March of this year, and…Health12 min read
May 10, 2020Member-onlyFalling Through The Grief CracksRemember high school? It was all about categories. Specific labels and pre-existing groups you could commit to so fully that it was like a built in identity cloak wrapped around your shoulders; a parameter against which you could contextualize everything and everyone else. The options varied depending on your school…Mothers Day8 min read
Nov 29, 2019Member-onlyA Year Without My “Hysteria”: A Retrospective.It’s been a year and three months since I underwent a radical hysterectomy at age 35. Hysterectomy. Sometimes I can’t believe we still call it that. I think about it every time I have to say it. Sometimes I slip and joke that they removed my “hysteria,” only no one…Endometriosis7 min read
Nov 25, 2018Member-onlyThe Nuanced Grief of InfertilityOn losing something I wasn’t sure I wanted — It’s been 82 days since I had my uterus and all its appendages removed in what my surgeon and I have affectionately dubbed “not your grandma’s hysterectomy.” Once removed, my fallopian tubes and uterus were found to be so ravaged by endometriosis that my specialist was confident I never would…Health9 min read
Oct 5, 2018Member-onlyA Dear John Letter To My UterusDear My Recently Ripped Out Uterus, I have a box of your stuff. Pads, tampons, a few random boxes of Cyclen you left here. I know it’s awkward, but it’s probably best if you’d come and pick it up so I can move on. The month since you and your…Endometriosis4 min read
Aug 24, 2018Member-onlyThe Big H.A week from today I will undergo a full abdominal hysterectomy. I am 35. I have no children. By the time you read this, it will have already happened. When you next see me, I will be sans uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes, which according to an astounding amount of…Endometriosis12 min read
Mar 22, 2018Member-onlyBetween a Doc and a Hard Place.This is the story of how I ended up ugly crying in the hospital parking lot yesterday. It’s also the story of how a perceived biological imperative continues to erode my autonomy over my health. I promise, I’ll make it as funny as I can. Yesterday, at the behest of…Health16 min read