Endometriosis Documentary
Friday, December 9, 2011 at 6:36PM This is a bit out of the ordinary for me - I’m a wedding and portrait photographer, so to be posting a video is different. I wanted to use this platform to share something very dear to my heart, something I was passionate about creating, and something I am now very thrilled to share.
In the spring of 2009, my last semester as a video editing major at JMU, I did an independent study under a faculty advisor. I decided the only way I would have the motivation to do a one-woman project from start-to-finish was to make something I was passionate about. I have a story, a history of battling a disease called Endometriosis when I was younger, and the Lord was so good to bring me out of it all. Because of my experience I feel empowered to share my story with others.
(Me and Dr. Albee after I taped one of his surgeries at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia)
I’m going to share my story at length below. Please don’t feel obligated to read it, but if you or someone you know is suffering from endometriosis or might have endo, this is definitely worth your time. It’ll change your life, just like it changed mine.
Thank you for allowing me to share a project I invested so much of myself into. Please pass this along if you know someone who this might help. Don’t hesitate to email me if you or anyone you know has any more questions about my story or what you see in the documentary. Most importantly, visit the Center for Endometriosis Care website at www.centerforendo.com for more information.
My Story:
I’ve always been one to have really horrible periods, even from the time they started. I would have the most intense cramping and horrible pain - I figured I was one of those “unlucky ones” who just had it bad. In the fall of 2003, I ended up in the ER with pelvic pain. I had just gone on the birth control patch, my 5th or 6th attempt at a different brand of birth control, trying to find the one that would help ease my symptoms. Only two days after starting it, I ended up in the ER, so needless to say it was a bad idea. After doing an ultrasound, I was told that I had fluid around my ovaries, that a cyst had ruptured. They gave me pain killers and told me it would get better.
The pain was only increasing, so I went back to my OGBYN (I was 16 at the time) and she said the only option was to do exploratory surgery to see what was wrong, she had exercised all of her options from outside of my body. Five days after my trip to the ER I was in the hospital again undergoing my first surgery - a laparoscopy, which is basically when they cut a hole in your belly button and stick a camera inside to look around. While inside, my OBGYN found endometriosis and she treated what she was able to by cauterizing it (burning it).
When I woke up from surgery, she told me I had been diagnosed with endometriosis and she treated what she could reach with her tools. She informed me that endo is an incurable disease, one of the leading causes of infertility, and that I should anticipate having surgery every 2-3 years until I hit menopause… or longer. I was 16-years old. I was devastated, frustrated, and extremely confused. Needless to say I slipped into a pretty deep depression that year.
The first few months my symptoms were somewhat improved, but it wasn’t before long until they all came back, and somehow they seemed worse than before. Within six months of my first surgery I approached my OBGYN for another surgery. She told me I had to wait at least two years, otherwise it was too risky and I would build up too much scar tissue. I was so depressed and so over the pain that I asked her if I could have a hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus) - she was kind enough to sit down with me, pray with me, and convince me that it was worth living through the pain to at least have the option to have kids some day. That is, if I was even able to have kids.
I was beginning my senior year of high school and had already missed over 50 days the year before. I was having difficulty in my classes and it was looking more and more like I might not graduate. I could hardly handle the pain, and no one understood what I was going through. Since I wasn’t able to have another surgery, I began exploring natural options. I tried everything from change in diet to acupuncture. Nothing worked. Desperate for answers, my mom (bless her heart) poured herself into research to try to find some way to help give me my life back.
She eventually stumbled upon a website, www.centerforendo.com and a doctor in Atlanta by the name of Robert Albee. Dr. Albee claimed to have an answer, a method of surgery over 90% effective at permanently treating endometriosis. My mom reached out to former patients and read many forums, all raving about Dr. Albee and how he changed their lives. We spent many hours researching and praying about what to do, and we knew in our hearts that I needed another surgery… we had hopes that this was the answer. We approached my local OBGYN to ask for her blessing to go, and she advised us against it. We went anyway, against her will, and against our insurance plan.
We contacted the Center for Endo and we were able to get me into surgery within six weeks of contacting them. During my Thanksgiving break of my senior year of high school, my parents and I drove from Northern Virginia down to Atlanta, Georgia to meet Dr. Albee, have a consultation, and perform surgery. Upon meeting Dr. Albee, I not only felt comfortable with him and how knowledgable he was, but he was such a kind, Godly man who really took me and my family under his wing to help. He prayed for me at our appointment and in the hospital before my surgery. He explained everything so clearly and made sure all of our worries and questions were answered.
On Wednesday, November 24, 2004, I went into surgery with Dr. Albee - a laparoscopy, similar to before, but with different tools and a much different approach and method of treating the endo. I woke up from surgery and Dr. Albee told me I had a 6% chance of ever having problems with endo again. Over 7 years later, I can confidently say since that day I have been cured.
The documentary explains in much more detail what he does differently and why his methods are effective, but the bottom line is that most doctors aren’t trained to do what he does, and that is why so many women have surgery after surgery to treat their endo. It’s because doctors aren’t able to get it all out, and don’t have the proper tools or training to do it in such a way that it won’t grow back. Dr. Albee and his team are specialists in laser excision and I can tell you first hand that his methods work. I’ve been on both sides - I was treated by my local OBGYN who cauterized my endo, which only grew back (with scar tissue on top of it) causing more pain and more problems. I was then treated my Dr. Albee and have never had a problem since that day.
After my surgery, we returned to my local OBGYN and showed her pictures from the surgery as well as a video we shot of Dr. Albee explaining what he did… she was amazed and said she had never heard of anything like this. She now refers all of her patients to him and is an advocate for his methods!
Six months later, my older sister, Rachel, showed signs of endometriosis. My experience taught our family to go straight to the expert, so that following summer we all took another trip down to Atlanta for Rachel to be treated by Dr. Albee. She had late stage II endo and was told that if she hadn’t been treated, she would have most likely been infertile within five years. The proof is in the pudding - Rachel had her first baby in January of 2010 and she is about to have her second baby in a few weeks.
(My sister Rachel, her husband Brian, and their son Joseph, pregnant with a little girl coming December 21st!)
We have no idea how her life, all of our lives, could have been different without this treatment, but what we do know is that Dr. Albee and his treatment made it better. We got our lives back, we began to experience life without pain. Rachel’s success in conceiving two children gives me great hope that my fertility will be preserved as well.
Everyone has a different story, but the bottom line is this: there is HOPE for women suffering with endometriosis. There is something that can be done to radically change your life for the better. I cannot emphasize this enough because I am so incredibly thankful for how God used Dr. Albee, Dr. Sinvervo, Dr. Redwine, and the entire team at CEC to help our family.
Now it’s our turn, to pass along this invaluable information and experience to hopefully help the lives of others. If you or someone you know is suffering from endometriosis, there is hope. Please visit www.centerforendo.com for more information, and don’t hesitate to send me an email (rebekah@rebekahhoyt.com) if you want to chat one-on-one about my story and my experience.
Thank you so much for reading this, and thank you for watching the documentary. Help me help others by passing this along to anyone you know who needs to see it.
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