Because We're Worth It!

I was on one of the forums on Facebook yesterday and there was a really interesting discussion going on:

A lady had fallen in the street. She'd posted pictures of her ankle which was every shade of purple you can imagine. She also explained that her knees were also in a terrible state because she'd had to crawl home. 

Although the accudent had happened more than a week earlier she hadn't been to the doctors or hospital. She was just saying "I'll see how I feel...."

It was one of the comments to this which really resonated with me:

"If it was one of your kids you would have had it checked immediately!"

Of course she would have done. Anyone would have done. 

I was struck by this - why did it make a difference that it was her leg rather than one of her children's? It shouldn't have made a blind bit of difference. I'm not judging, I would have done exactly the same, holding on in pain and discomfort hoping optimistically that it would sort itself out tomorrow. 

Of course, we're wrong to do this and I think it has had a detrimental effect on our collective understanding of women's health generally and PCOS specifically. 

As women we're all conditioned to think that our ailments and illnesses are unworthy of consideration. We worry that we'll be dismissed as melodramatic for asking for help (and let's face it, most PCOS sufferers have at some point been fobbed off or told we're being silly by professionals who should know better). 

I think this problem actually illustrates the problem with PCOS, the disease itself, the medical understanding of the syndrome,  and certainly the public perception of the condition: It's a disease of women, especially busy women. The kind of women that don't complain and just soldier on regardless of suffering, looking after everyone else's needs before our own. 

But we are wrong to do this. We do ourselves a disservice, and we allow others to do the same. 

If one of our children (any of our children!) were suffering with the range and severity of the symptoms we face everyday, we'd move heaven and earth to get the treatment needed. 

I suspect there would have been a cure long ago, because PCOS limits the life choices, potential and dreams of its sufferers and we'd never knowingly let that happen to our child. 

It's about time we stood up with as much self worth as we can muster and demand the answers we need. 

I believe I'm on the way to recovery now - I just need my recent small weight loss to continue into a consistent and demonstrable weight loss and I'll declare myself in recovery, but let's take this ladies' comment as an education: 

We deserve treatment and should demand it. 

We Are Worth It!