#CorisStory: Justice
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My name is Cori Smith and I'm a man with the debilitating disease: Endometriosis. It's for the most part being referred to as a "female disease" which affects "1 in 10 people born with a uterus" however it does affect trans & cisgender males, as well as nonbinary and intersex individuals. Due to the Gendered language surrounding the disease, it further limits access to care (those stats are inaccurate due to lack of recognition, representation, research)
I'm trailblazing that path, and was featured in a viral mini Doc by NowThis News a few years back. Their Facebook release is sitting at about 2+million views. But NowThis News did not tell the whole story they came to film for..
I'm in the middle of a lawsuit against a Juggernaut of a Medical Center & University, which is now in the Court of Appeals Second Circuit in NYC. I'm suing on Discrimination, and have since filed criminal charges against the doctor and nurses who treated me. They were verbally & physically abusive, and transphobic towards me.
After already being admitted and sent to the OB/GYN floor for emergency surgery - the doctor and staff first refused to treat me, and perform the emergency surgery - because I am Transgender. Stating they "didn't want to aid in my transition" however I was there due to complications from an egg retrieval a few days prior, and had PCOS/HCOS Hypercystic Ovarian Syndrome (ovaries filled with heavy cysts), Endometriosis, and severe ovarian torsion of both ovaries. (excruciating doesn't justify)
They forced me to undergo 3 surgeries instead of 1, a doctor there sexually assaulted me in front of a room full of gawking/laughing nurses without my consent while I was in double ovarian torsion. I was stripped of my clothes and blankets, I was denied pain medication, I was not allowed to leave. I was tortured, and never once referred to as Male [despite a driver's license with Male] but instead- "it" "she" and "they". The blanket I did receive was dirty, blood stained, and picked up off the floor and reused multiple times. My stitches were inside out, and my belly button sewn shut. I woke with several chipped teeth requiring dental surgery, as well as nerve damage (bilateral ilioinguinal neuralgia) caused by the surgeon.
The treatment I received from them, caused irreversible and severe damage to my body. I ended up having to be readmitted for 5 days, a month later, due to an intestinal blockage & ileus caused by them [when aggressively probing me for several minutes] as well as a case of E.Coli. I required at home nurse care for months to cath me multiple times a day because I could no longer urinate on my own, because of the sexual assault. It was also later found out they diagnosed me with bilateral ilioinguinal neuralgia, caused by the surgeon. They failed to mention I could eventually lose leg function/mobility, and could end up in a wheelchair. I started losing feeling in my legs slowly over time.
Every 4 weeks for the last almost 8 years, I've required 40-50 nerve blocks & trigger point injections across my abdomen, back, and groin for pain management. Pain which I have had ever since the incident. It has severely impacted my ability to function, work, and live.
That means it has also been almost 8 years since my separate oopherectomies & hysterectomy, and I know I still have Endometriosis left behind on my colon, intestines, ureters, bladder, and now my kidney(s) are having severe dysfunction. I'm in need of excision surgery, and to find out what can be done about the nerve damage on both sides.
The hospital changed my gender back and forth in their system, causing my medical bills to bounce several times, and it racked up unnecessary debt and negatively impacted my credit.
I spoke with heads of the medical center, about my experience, and they haven't done anything but use my intellectual property to make hospital changes to claim they "better serve the trans & nonbinary community." They released a full page public apology to me and my family, in a Rochester Magazine. I haven't been reached out to, or paid. I haven't gotten anything for what they've done to me, and taken from me.
As of this year ALL of my doctors have fully force discharged me, blindside. I am now left without doctors or access to medical care, while my kidney is possibly failing, and has hydronephrosis.
They tried to have the lawsuit dismissed on a "one day time bar" (despite discrimination happening beyond the date they stated) so I took it to the Court of Appeals in NYC, and then went to the police to file an official police report. The RPD [Rochester Police Department] classified what happened to me as a Hate Crime, and Aggravated Sexual Assault. The Mayor of my city was in contact with me-- and have her support, the police chief was briefing me in, they had Investigators working on it. They were going to present to a grand jury but my City's DA covered it up for the sake of Rochester's reputation.
URMedicine paid to have a lawyer sit in on all interrogations and used their power/money to obstruct justice. I'm pressing criminal charges as well as my civil rights charges on Discrimination, as the malpractice occurred because of my Trans status, and was a crime which should never happen in a medical institution. By doctors who swore an oath to do no harm.
At this point I'm hoping to have an excision surgery done by an Endometriosis Specialist. Excision is not covered under insurance, and all of my prior surgeries were using the further harmful ablation technique, where only the top layer of the disease is burned. Excision costs are upwards $15,000+ and that doesn't include travel, or my housing / cost of survival in the meantime.
I need help quite frankly. They have alot of power, I have had my rights blocked to get legal help and have had to write the lawsuit, appeal, and all of their Motions - entirely on my own - ProSe. All while dealing with the daily pain and trauma I have endured. They have scared local media to not release about this, as their reputation would be shot.
If no one speaks up about this, they will successfully sweep this under the rug - and such a heinous act should not be hidden. This happened to me, and I don't want it to happen to anyone else ever again. Without public outcry or support, they could get away with this, and I will have to solely accept those responsibilities, life of pain, trauma, and future medical & life costs unknown - for the rest of my life.
*I am already at this time in eviction court and could lose my housing. I am fighting for disability as well, as I haven't been able to work in over a year.
This would also show trans & nonbinary individuals they have the right to stand up for themselves, they too can do it, and deserve to thrive. Not to mention, all Endometriosis Awareness is Endometriosis Awareness, and we all need to be a few steps closer to a cure.
#THISISENDOMETRIOSIS #CorisStory #TransRightsAreHumanRights
Instagram @Cori5mith
Photo by Georgie Wileman
Who is also raising funds for her excision surgery as well at this time. She created #THISISENDOMETRIOSIS out of the lack of accurate representation of people with Endo, as well as to tear down inaccurate Endo 'facts'.
Organizer
Cori Smith
Organizer
Rochester, NY