Help me live pain-free

Hi there, welcome to my Go-Fund-Me page. My name is Erin, and I am a 33-year-old: wife, dog-mom, want-to-be adventurer, and general lover of all things outside. In my spare time, I love to be as active as possible (biking, hiking, swimming, etc.) or to curl up with a good book. However, the last few years have become increasingly challenging to be as active as I want to be due to my health. I have also needed to pause my career as a teacher and take a job with less physical demands.

 

Since my early teens, I have struggled with pelvic pain, but the pain began to take over my life in 2016. In 2019, I was initially diagnosed with endometriosis during a laparoscopy. The procedure was supposed to take about an hour, but it took nearly four times that as the surgeon attempted to excise all the endometriosis lesions found in my abdomen/pelvic area. We hoped that would be it and feel better after surgery, but I still had pain.

 

From 2019 to 2021 I was in a state of medicated menopause. This helped with pain but caused many unpleasant side effects. Then in 2021 my husband and I started the journey for a family. I have eased myself off the medications, but there’s been no success so far. More concerning though, is the pain has been worsening! The endometriosis lesions, left from my previous surgery, have continued to grow, despite my best efforts to feel better through medications, acupuncture, massage therapy, food elimination, stopping some of my favourite activities like running, pelvic physiotherapy - and the list continues to grow!

 

There is no cure for endometriosis, but excision surgery by a trained surgeon is considered the gold standard of care in the endo community. There are only a few of these surgeons in Alberta, and the wait times to see these specialists are very long.

 

To get my pain better managed and get a better understanding of what is happening in my body, I have started to research care outside of Canada. There is a famous resource in the endo community called “Nancy’s Nook,” which is a Facebook group set-up as a resource guide for people with endometriosis. Through this group, a particular doctor kept popping up- Dr. Gabriel Mitroi.

 

Dr. Mitroi is in Romania. He is the founder of the Bucharest Endometriosis Centre, which is a multidisciplinary team of specialists dedicated to treating endometriosis. He is recognized globally for his research and success in eradicating the disease. After some more research, I found a group of Canadians who have, or will be going to, Romania for treatment. Overall, the group has been very positive with their experiences. People are finding their pain levels are significantly reduced after surgery! The biggest draw for Canadians to travel to Romania is the cost of care is a fraction of the cost of similar centres in the United States, which offer similar success.

 

I have reached out to Dr. Mitroi, and he believes he can help me with an intensive MRI, presacral neurectomy, further excision of any remaining endometriosis lesions, and an exploratory hysteroscopy. He was able to schedule me for this coming August 18th!

 

Travelling to the Bucharest Endometriosis Centre comes with a cost. We are looking for some help with covering these costs. After my diagnosis with Functional Neurological Disorder and migraines last spring, I spent many months this past year living off E.I. while I focused on recovery. As a result, things have been very tight financially for my husband and me.

 

Ultimately, I believe this journey to Romania will help reduce my pain and provide some answers, especially with fertility. I choose not to allow pain to become my life and create a barrier to the life I want to live.

 

 

Here is a rough estimate of a cost break-down:

 

Surgery $4500

MRI $600

Hospital Stay $1000

Flights for my husband and I $6000

Accommodations in Bucharest for approximately 2 weeks $1000

Medical Travel Insurance $1000

 

Total: $14,100

 

Thank you for reading my story and for your support <3

 

Feel free to follow my journey at @mindover_endo on Instagram.