09/30/2026
Today, I give something to the world that was born from some of the most painful parts of my life.
And there could not be a more meaningful day to do it.
Thirteen years ago today, I lost my mother, Augusta.
My mother knew painful periods.
My aunt knew them.
My sister knew them.
And then there was me.
I come from women who endured the kind of pain women have been taught for generations to normalize, minimize, push through, and too often suffer in silence.
Today, I honor them.
I honor every person whose life has been altered by endometriosis.
I honor what this disease has taken from us, our time, our plans, our relationships, our careers, our finances, our fertility, our sense of safety in our own bodies, and sometimes pieces of ourselves we are still trying to find again.
I honor the caregivers who have been in the trenches beside us. The ones holding heating pads, sitting in emergency rooms, making phone calls, learning the language of a disease they do not have because someone they love does.
And today, I want to be a lighthouse for the person still in the storm.
For the person searching the internet at 2 a.m. trying to understand what is happening to their body.
For the person who has been told their pain is normal.
For the person who wasn't believed.
For the person exhausted from trying to navigate a healthcare system that was supposed to help them.
For the person wondering whether anyone sees them.
We see you.
Today, I officially launch the Endometriosis Equity Initiative🎗️
EEI exists to help close the gaps in endometriosis education, access, research, resources, and care, and to make sure the people too often pushed to the margins of this disease are brought into the center of the conversation.
I dedicate this work to my granddaughters, Khloe and Abbey.
May you grow up knowing that your pain matters. May you know your bodies belong to you. May you have the language to advocate for your reproductive health and the confidence to demand answers when something isn't right.
As long as I have a voice, I will do everything in my power to make sure you never have to suffer in silence.
And finally, I dedicate this moment to me.
To the woman who survived it.
To the young woman who knew something was wrong even when she wasn't believed.
To the woman whose body has carried more than she ever imagined it would have to carry.
And to the woman I am today, who found the courage to take one of the most vulnerable parts of her life and place it before the world in hopes that someone else's journey might be different.
I am living proof that survival is possible.
And I am determined to show that thriving is possible, too.
On September 30, a date that has represented profound loss in my life for thirteen years, I am choosing to also make room for legacy.
In honor of the women I come from.
In protection of the girls coming after me.
In solidarity with everyone living this story right now.
And in memory of my mama, Augusta.
Welcome to the Endometriosis Equity Initiative.
A lighthouse in the storm🎗️
Closing the gap in women's health. 💛
