I have suffered alone for so long, a tiny voice crying out in pain.
I cried from deep within my soul, so soft only I could hear.
For so long I ignored that cry, never letting it pass my lips.
I was convinced the pain was all in my mind, as so many doctors had said
I denied myself the care that was needed, just to satisfy my fear.
I knew that the pain and suffering were real, that this was not the norm.
I decided today to voice my pain, I cried out through the years of suffering
Let the weight of the pain lift from my shoulders.
I have a name for my affliction, I have endometriosis.
A disease that not only destroys my precious body,
but with each pulsating pain chips away part of my spirit.
It rips apart my reproductive organs, exposing my vulnerability.
This disease is slowly , silently, stealing my femininity,
taking from me my most valuable assets.
It consumes both my mind and body completely,
my thoughts are never far from it.
I am thrust into a vicious cycle of drugs and surgeries,
all in a vain attempt to cure an incurable disease.
Hopes rise and fall, like a ride on a rollercoaster,
the pain never ceases and the suffering only worsens.
I am determined not to let it win, or get the best of me.
I will break the mold, I will not let it destroy my spirit.
I sit alone in my room as I listen to the sounds of the night.
I begin to hear voices, voices of hope, and voices of pain,
voices of triumph, and voices of fear, voices singing as loud as they can.
Joining hands and raising their voices to the heavens.
All to be heard in one common pursuit. The cure for Endometriosis.
~Karen Houpt 1997