Endometriosis is unforgiving. It looks pretty, it has a smile, it’s skinny, appealing, and even laughs a lot and tells jokes. But endometriosis is a masked war within. It’s Heaven on the outside and hellfire on the inside. It brings you to your knees. It’s the collapse after a beautiful run in town. It’s unpredictable. It comes and it goes. And it comes again. It doesn’t care what you are doing, who you are with, or where you are going. It’s a thief of happiness and stealer of joy. It cripples you and makes you question yourself. It strains your relationships and mind. I am not my endometriosis. Here’s my story. For as long as I can remember, I was always taking naproxen and used a heating pad. Back pains, cramps, headaches, ovaries feeling like they’re exploding, right side one time more than the left side, then left side more than the right side. You see Endo doesn’t discriminate. Then came a visit to every bathroom in my daily travels. Then repeated doctor visits for “UTIs,” courses of antibiotics, and never feeling like it worked. But you can’t just go once to the doctor’s office for it, you gotta at least go 3,4,5,6 times for those so-called UTI’s. And if that isn’t good enough, just wait until your insurance sucks and you have to PAY OUT OF POCKET. Right!  I didn’t lose you yet, did I? You see, this witch endometriosis picked the wrong girl.I am NOT my endometriosis. I WILL KEEP FIGHTING.Let’s talk about the elephant in the room though….let’s talk about mental health. Let’s have a discussion on depression, anxiety, lack of motivation…BECAUSE THOSE ARE ALL SIDE EFFECTS OF THIS NASTY UNFORGIVING HAUNT OF A DISEASE. I turned 37, and it was like a fire ignited. My flame had been out for so long that I didn’t even know what to do with all the momentum I had going. So…like anything else; what goes up must come down. 6 days after my birthday, I went for a run and that’s when I collapsed and was diagnosed with endo, which is a disease where endometrial tissue of the uterus grows outside of the uterus and causes severe pain. I went in for emergency surgery, and they found it was far worse than we imagined - I had lesions on my bowels and had to have part of it removed. I attribute my Chiropractor, Dr. Mike Golz, Jr. of Franklin Lakes Sport and Spine (https://franklinlakessportspine.com/dr-michael-golz-jr/ )for saving my life. He knew there were correlations to the pain I was feeling, and if it was wasn’t for his persistence in making sure I got my blood work done (only took a few months, sorry Mike!), I would not have been able to properly detect this chronic illness. I also would like to thank Dr. Khashayar Shakiba, MB, FPMRS of Women’s Pelvic Surgery of North Jersey located in Hackensack (https://www.womenspelvicsurgery.com/ ) and staff for the proper diagnosis and exceptional care. I decided to take a holistic approach, and it sent me into a spiral. I was scared of taking medicine to put me into menopause in order to protect my uterus to have another child. I’m proud to say I went for my first run a few days ago. I will NOT let this disease control me. I will fight hard to run and represent the beautiful people who suffer from this invisible illness . I am on the proper medication and will have nerve therapy when I can come up with the funds, along with cupping and other forms of therapy. I am NOT my endometriosis. I am a fighter. It’s very hard for me to write this, as it’s super emotional for me. I have a 7 year old boy who calls me Wonder Woman. In addition, I had a partial mastectomy in 2021 and recently experiencing breast issues again. But have no fear - The tenacity in me is fierce. I pray to complete the run but just being asked in itself is the highest honor. I am grateful to raise money and support my community of warriors. You are not alone,  we are all in this journey together. One step at a time.