The story of Ann
It was just one year since I had given birth to my first and only child. I thought I was going to have three children, but this diagnosis changed everything. Having a normal vagina, I took it for granted. Never did I think there was such a dibilating disease that could drastically affect me, let alone literally changing my future in the blink of an eye. Realizing that I was no longer “normal,” and would have difficulty with intimate relations for the rest of my life – I was only 36! This couldn’t possibly be happning. There HAS to be a cure! Not only is there no current cure, but controlling it is limited, as nobody is focused on this rare disorder. Learning that fact made this so much harder. Then I though, well, it’s not cancer, it’s not going to kill me. No, it won’t. It has taught me to be strong, it has taught me to adapt to life’s ever-changing notion of “normal,” and it has made me realize that I am not alone in this journey. There are so many diseases that are ignored, or not important enough to matter. This is one of them. I matter. My disease matters. Science matters. There has to be a cure. We cannot ignore the struggles of so many.