The Scariest Moment of my Life with Endometriosis

There I laid, on the floor with a towel wrapped around me while looking up at the ceiling. I don't know how I ended up down there, nor did I know how long I was there for; I just knew that something was wrong. I managed to get myself together to climb off the floor, and then I proceeded to my bedroom, where I pulled myself into bed. For some reason sleeping it off seemed like the right thing to do at the time because my body was so exhausted. I had fainted on my basement floor, and I was drained. My father sat upstairs at the dining room table as I laid there unconscious, for I don't know how long; till this day, he's still unaware that happened. It was just one of the scariest moments of my life. My fainting would be my excuse for not running or working out for years to come. The day before, I decided that I wanted to commit myself to practice a healthier lifestyle. So that Saturday afternoon, I got up to fix a healthy lunch, then got dressed to go for a run. I ran and ran and ran. I had run and walked around the entire neighborhood, which was probably about 2.5 to 3 miles.

You probably don't consider that a big deal for those who run on the regular, but if you're incredibly exhausted like me, it isn't easy. I finally got home and knew that I was so out of shape based on how I was struggling to catch my breath. About 15 minutes had passed, and I still couldn't catch my breath. I some grabbed water and took a seat on the steps at the top of the basement stairwell, and I was too tired to even walk down the steps.

"Maybe I need fresh air?"

"Maybe I need to just hop in the shower?"

Whatever I needed to do to relax, I was going to try to because I was getting scared and didn't know what else to do.

My Dad sat at the dining room table like he always did on Saturday morning, reading his daily news and laptop. I didn't want to bother him, especially since I didn't even know how to explain what was happening to me. I didn't want him to be frightened or worried because it would scare me even more.

I thought to myself, as I used the restroom, "Everything is going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay. Just breathe, breathe." I figured that if I said it over and over that indeed this would eventually come true. I was utterly wrong. I turned the warm water on, and then I jumped in the shower. While taking my shower, I began to feel my body change, the light in the shower had gotten darker, and I started to sweat. I thought it was the water causing this, so I changed the temperature. I had convinced myself that the lighting in the shower wasn't getting darker and that I was freaking out. But then I began to feel weak, and my vision started getting blurrier, and the shower got darker; I stopped. I jumped out of the shower, grabbed my towel, and well, that's how I ended up looking up at the ceiling.

The next day I made my way to my family physician. My blood work had to was going to be sent in for testing, so that would take a whole week. She urged me that if I fainted again, I would immediately go to the hospital, advice that saved my life.

That night I just felt extremely uncomfortable. I knew that something was wrong, but I didn't know what. At some point that night, I went to use the restroom, and for some reason, every time I urinated, it was a lot, like a lot. I was just so confused. As I walked out of the bathroom, I took two steps forward, it got dark again, and my body gave out from underneath me. I went face down on the floor, my head missing the corner of the wall by an inch.

The following day I called Devin, my long-time friend from high school; I told her all the details. She picked me up from home, and we headed to George Washington Hospital Center. As I gathered myself to get out of the car, I looked down at my stomach to see that it was sweating profusely. I don't remember much except that I was in bed when they told me they needed a urine sample. At this point, I was okay to walk by myself, so I headed to the restroom. While in the bathroom, it dawned on me that urinating was triggering me to pass out. Frightened and in a rush, I closed up the container, washed my hands, and quickly tried to get to a nurse. I told the nurse my discovery, handed her my pee, and told her that I needed to sit immediately. Devin screams as my legs turn into jello and release from under me. I had passed out right outside of the bathroom, just like I had explained to the nurse.

"AAAHHHH" I screamed as I awoke; tears flowed down my face. I was in excruciating pain; it felt like pins and needles stabbing me in my back over and over and over again.

Three nurses and Devin picked me up as they tried to place me on the gurney hospital bed. At this point, it was real. I had been there for roughly one hour, which turned into two, two turned into four, and four into eight. They ran several tests on me but still, no answer. The nurse placed me in the hallway, barely a couple of feet away from where doctors were performing surgery on a patient. I couldn't deal; I had fear in my heart and tears in my eyes. I just wanted to be better, and I just wanted to stop hurting. And to think this was all triggered by me wanting to start a healthier lifestyle. I cried and cried; I wanted out.

About 30 minutes passed, and finally, the doctor came and explained that I had a cyst rupture. She also explained that my white blood cells were low, so they would have to check back later, which meant more waiting. Knowing that I had to go into surgery frightened me even more. About three hours later, and I was off into surgery, I would wake up with my brother and sister by my side the next day.

"The doctor said you had two gallons of blood in your abdomen." my brother said.

And this was the scariest moment of my life with endometriosis.