My article for The Guardian: With endometriosis, shouldn’t ‘let’s get you well’ come before ‘let’s get you pregnant’?
Hey EndoActivists / bloggies,
Last week I was invited to write a column for The Guardian. What a privilege and a milestone. The Guardian is a prestigious, highly respected publication with gravitas. On New Year’s Eve 2015 they published an article about me, which was a great honour. But to be asked to write for them and comment on an important research paper about a topic I’ve become so passionate about is an entirely different feeling.
On the Guardian it has had over 6526 shares. Our post reach in the past fortnight has been insane – over 80,000 organically.
It also made history by being the first article I’ve written to make it into my own Google Alert!
This is how it went on EndoActive’s Facebook
And on the Guardian
I want to thank you all again so much for your ongoing encouragement and activism on this page. Many of you have thanked me for being your ‘voice’.
Truthfully, I never set out to be anyone’s voice. I didn’t even want to use my own voice to talk about Endometriosis. Who would want to talk publicly about that? But one I started I couldn’t stop.
I felt empowered because suddenly I was part of a massive team with an enormous cheer squad and together we were breaking the rules (that women’s issues should be kept hush hush) and we were absolutely killing it.
I hope that I can inspire you guys to be open and honest about having Endo, be brave and confident when you talk about it like it’s the most normal thing in the world and to give zero f***s what anyone else thinks. Every time you talk about it you’re being an EndoActivist and helping somebody else feel less alone and shy about their own issues – whatever they may be.
I always feel uncomfortable having my name on something Endo-related and not my Mum’s. Even though I wrote this article, I had enormous help with every draft from my Co-founder / Mum, Lesley. She has been my partner, health advocate and strongest support in all of this and in many ways I owe my good health and where I am today to her. I couldn’t have done any of it without her. Whatever success I have, is ours to share as we’ve done it all together. She was the one with all the energy to research and campaign and push for change while I was too sick to know what was going on. She is clever as anything and tough as nails. If you look up ‘true grit’ in the dictionary you should see her name. Love you Mumma. You really are incredible.
Thank you so much everyone who shared their stories with us on our Facebook page. I can always count on our followers to give me all the ammo I need in 2 minutes. Mum and I read every single one of your 200+ comments.
A huge thank you to Gabrielle Jackson from the Guardian Australia for giving me this incredible opportunity. To be asked to share your stories and offered to publicise Endo is such an honour. What an incredibly long way we’ve come. Gabrielle also has Endo and has been very instrumental in raising awareness.
A huge thank you to Kate Young, J. Fisher & M. Kirkman from Monash University for all the hard work that went in to writing the research paper I’m holding in my hands above.
We’ve come an incredibly long way in a short time. 18 months ago we were begging for media attention. Now they come to us. WOO Girl Power!
x x Syl