Emma’s story

For anyone starting their periods, it is a memorable moment, one they don’t tend to usually forget. For me, it was the middle of the night where I woke up in what can only be described as a pool full of blood in excruciating pain. I was 10 years old.

From then on I had 14 day long debilitating painful periods that would soak through 2 night time sanitary pads stuck together within the hour. My family GP at the time told me and my Mum on numerous occasions that this is ‘just how some periods are’.

I eventually was put on contraceptive pills from the age of 13, pain medications and told to ‘relax more’ when I described how putting a tampon in at the age of 14 made my legs shake. Eventually at the age of 16 I was referred to a gynaecologist. It was there that an ultrasound came back in the words of the consultant ‘ absolutely clear’. I was devastated and so confused as the pain was on the point of being unbearable.

At the age of 19, I had the coil fitted for a year which felt as if I was in constant contractions. It did not want to be inside me at all.

I also started passing blood heavily from the bowel, but medical staff in A&E put it all down to a stomach bug (even though this has continued).

Eventually, at the age of 20, I met a consultant who finally suggested that I may have Endometriosis. It was the first time I had even heard of Endometriosis. I went on Prostap injections and then had keyhole surgery where they discovered Adenomyosis. A few months later I had a surgery with an Endometriosis specialist where I was then diagnosed with stage 4 Endometriosis.

It was then that I was told that my fertility was severely compromised and that I would seriously struggle to ever have children and if I ever wanted to have a child, I should start trying.

I was completely devastated as I had always wanted a big family, but I had just met my boyfriend (now husband) so starting a family was not something I wanted to rush into at the age of 21 with someone I had just started dating.

There began the constant cycle of prostap injections and excision surgeries for endometriosis, each time the endo would be more and more widespread.

At the age of 29 – after trying for a year – we found out (on Valentines day!) that we were expecting a miracle baby.

To this day we will forever be thankful as we truly never thought it was ever going to happen for us. I may not have had my big brood of a family, but I will never take it for granted that we have our daughter.