It is so important to invite your Congressional Representative to the march and to give them information regarding the march. Upon contacting their representatives, some other women have actually been contacted and invited to a meeting with their representative to talk about the march and endometriosis. Maybe your representative cannot make the march, but maybe they will wear a yellow ribbon that day in support and post it? Maybe they will post information regarding the march on their social media sites? You never know what can happen and what doors may be opened! Feel free to cut and paste my letter and make it your own! Check out some of the other letters posted and feel free to borrow from them as well! Find out how to contact your representatives here: http://beta.congress.gov/members
The
Honorable Eliot L. Engel
Member
of the House of Representatives
2161 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear
Representative Engel:
I invite
you to be part of an exciting worldwide movement on March 13, 2014 to support
women with endometriosis. For far too long, women have been suffering with this
disease in silence. Let this year be the year we leave our pain, hopelessness
and despair behind. On March 13th we will bring our strength, resiliency and determination
to the streets of Washington, D.C. to have our voices heard. It takes an
average of ten years for a woman to be diagnosed with endometriosis due to the
lack of education and awareness among medical professionals. By the time a
woman is diagnosed, her health has been damaged, in many instances irreversibly.
Did you know that New York State Department of Health has recognized
endometriosis to be one of three diseases that causes significant harm to young
people? Statistics show that right at this moment, one in ten of your female
constituents are suffering from endometriosis.
I am part
of that statistic. I was misdiagnosed and misunderstood by many medical professionals
while I was in my late teens and early twenties. Despite the fact that
endometriosis was present throughout my pelvic cavity, I was told by doctors
that I had a low pain tolerance and that my symptoms were either just in my
head or were caused by mental health issues. Finally, when I was 26 years old,
a fertility doctor properly diagnosed me with endometriosis after performing an
exploratory laparoscopic surgery. I have had a total of six endometriosis-related
surgeries, the last of which occurred in October 2013 and was performed by 4
different surgeons: an endometriosis excision specialist, a colorectal surgeon,
a urologist and a cardiothoracic surgeon.
I am
joining women gathered from across the nation in Washington, D.C. on
March 13, 2014 for the Million Women March, to better educate medical
professionals and spread awareness to the greater community, so that the
disease can be more easily and timely recognized by doctors and patients
alike. One of our goals is to make endometriosis education part of school
curricula to help young girls get diagnosed early and accurately. As we work
toward our ultimate goal of encouraging research to find a cure for this
disease, we will also advocate for better diagnostic tools for doctors and better
treatment options for patients.
I hope
that you can join me in Washington, D.C. on March 13, as my representative and
as an individual with compassion toward women suffering with endometriosis. You
have a great record for championing healthcare for your constituents, and I
would be proud to march beside you that day. For more information regarding the
march, please visit: http://www.millionwomenmarch2014.org
Thank you
very much for your kind consideration.
Sincerely,
Casey Berna
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