Endometriosis: The monster inside

I was diagnosed at age 18 with Endometriosis.
It was so bad at that time, that the doctors said
that I would have a hysterectomy within 10 years.

In 1977, there weren't many treatments for it, other
than the birth control pill and surgery.
I was schduled for surgery.
I went in for my pre-op appointment.
Somehow I was pregnant!
A miracle baby.

The Endo became silent for several years.
It then returned with a vengeance.
I had surgery.
They said that the best chance I had for a
pregnancy was within the first
6 months after the surgery.
It took 1 1/2 years.
Another miracle baby.

I went on the birth control pill to keep it quiet.
It returned again with a vengeance.
Endometriosis caused me to have a bowel resection.
Then it finally robbed me of my reproductive organs.

The doctors had been wrong.
I pushed the 10 years to 27 years.
Then I had a complete hysterectomy.
It wasn't fair.

It forced me to give up any hope of more children.
I would never have a little baby girl.
I would have named her Ally.

The monster won in the end and
punished me along the way.
It's gone now for good.
But the scars remain as a reminder
of the monster called Endometriosis.