[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER: I have been masking
pain for so long,
I don't know how to not do it.
A lot of people
don't understand, when you're
a flight attendant,
you're kind of
like their counselor
for that one flight
that they're on.
And I hear so many people's
stories and their lives.
And I'll never see these people
again.
I can't come in
and say I'm having a bad day,
because my passengers may be
having a bad day.
If I'm at work
and I'm having a crappy day
because my endometriosis is
flaring up, I'm still going
to walk and have a smile.
And you will never know.
My periods were always
debilitating.
They were always horrible.
The cramping was just
unimaginable.
I wouldn't wish the pain that I
have on my period
on my worst enemy.
My mom would always tell me
she had bad cycles.
And so I just have bad cycles.
Maybe it's just genetic.
I thought I was making up
my own pain.
I used to tell myself all
the time, Sam, it's not that
bad.
And my best friend had to tell
me, it's not you.
Something is really wrong.
This particular day, I couldn't
walk.
And I've never had that happen
before.
When I got up,
and I tried to walk,
and I fell to the floor,
I knew something was wrong.
And I called my mom, screaming,
crying.
And she was like, OK, you need
to go to the doctor's.
He asked me three questions.
Are your periods painful?
Do you have issues with using
the bathroom?
And is intercourse painful?
And I answered yes to all three
of those questions.
And he said, I think you have
endometriosis.
So I've tried a plethora
of treatments.
The birth control treatments,
they are used to stop
the endometriosis from growing
so fast.
But for me, it was the opposite.
The treatments were causing me
to have 90-day periods.
For nine months out of the year,
everyday was heavy, everyday was
clotting.
And I would have to often wear
two pads at a time.
And to think 90 days, for nine
months out of the year,
and I'm doubling up on my pads,
how much money do I spend
on sanitary products?
Sometimes I had to choose food
or a pad.
I decided to forego birth
control treatments.
And I've decided to do
a lifestyle change.
My doctor said to me, OK,
so we're not going to be
on any treatment.
So you're going to have
to change your diet.
And now that I've changed
my diet, I can completely tell
a difference in my body.
My body feels so much lighter.
I love to cook.
I do a lot of salads.
I do a lot of bean burgers.
I do a lot of raw vegetables
and fruits.
Those really, really help.
And green fruits are just
amazing to my body
and to my period.
I no longer have 90-day periods
for nine months of the year.
I have a six-day period once
a month, like you're supposed
to.
And my bleeding is not as heavy.
My cramping is not as bad.
It seems like subtle changes,
but they have played a really
major role in how I'm
able to live now.
I've never met anybody who talks
to the youth about taboo issues
like your period.
And I remember, being
at high school, I was always
the one who needed to hear
those types of conversations.
I teach students
through the Endometriosis
National Foundation.
During my endometriosis
presentation, outside of going
over endometriosis in general
nd what it is,
different surgery options,
and birth control
treatment options, I go over how
to advocate for yourself when
you go to your doctor,
how to have the conversation
with your parents
about your period
and the symptoms
that you're going through.
I go over pap smears, STDs,
and what you need to do
if you're sexually active,
and how that affects your cycle.
I go over diet.
And they're very surprised
at the things
that I cover because they've
never heard it before.
But for me, if one person knows
the word endometriosis,
I feel like the whole school
knows it because word of mouth
travels.
Endometriosis has taught me
to not think of everything
as a negative.
It has really taught me to love
myself,
despite all of the issues
that it will cause.
Who I am with endometriosis
is different than who I was
before, but I wouldn't trade who
I am now with who I was before,
back then.