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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, ApRIl 14, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
production Manager
GUEST COLUMN
An Astoria endometriosis story
s a nurse wheeled my gurney
through a busy hospital hall-
way, my eyes opened. It took a
second to remember where I was when
I heard the familiar voice of my hus-
band at my side.
The first question to come from my
lips was the same one that had raced
through my mind hundreds of sleepless
nights: “Did they find
anything?”
It took me years
of appointments and
eight different doctors
to finally get this diag-
nostic surgery. Despite
my fear of needles and
NIKKI
being sliced open, I
DAVIDSON
counted down the days
until the procedure
like an elementary school kid waiting
for the start of summer vacation. All I
wanted was relief from my pain and to
finally know why it was happening.
My pelvic issues crept in years ago
and progressively got worse. Doc-
tors told me they were normal, and
I believed them until four years ago,
when unexpected waves of pain made
me question if I was dying.
I went to urgent care in tears. The
physician assumed I had appendicitis
and sent me to the emergency room in
a wheelchair. It turned out my appen-
dix was fine, but the medical team
noticed signs of a disease called endo-
metriosis in an ultrasound. I had never
heard of it.
I Googled it when I got home.
Endometriosis occurs when tissue sim-
ilar to the inner lining of the uterus
exists in a place where it shouldn’t
be, often in the pelvic cavity. The
misplaced tissue reacts to hormonal
changes, which can cause severe pain,
infertility and, in the worst cases,
life-threatening disruptions to normal
bodily functions.
A
Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women.
According to the Endometriosis
Foundation of America, the condition
affects 10% of people born with female
reproductive organs. However, it takes
most people seven to 10 years to get
a diagnosis and treatment from the
start of symptoms. At the time, I felt
extremely lucky that the doctors in my
small Minnesota city had put this on
my radar. I assumed I was on my way
to feeling better. I was naive.
Three years later, I wasn’t any
closer to getting pain relief. My hus-
band is in the military, so we moved
shortly after that ER visit. A doctor
in my new city insisted on ruling out
other causes of my symptoms. All tests
came back normal, except for irregu-
larities in four consecutive ultrasounds.
There was not much left to rule
out when we moved to Astoria, so I
assumed I could finally convince doc-
tors it was time for diagnostic surgery.
By this point, I was desperate. On
any given day, I’d get a sudden pang
of excruciating abdominal pain that
would break me into a nauseous, cold
sweat and render me unable to walk
or think clearly for hours. Some aches
never entirely went away, like an over-
sized hand that wouldn’t stop squeez-
ing my abdomen.
Excision surgery is the gold stan-
dard of treatment for most endome-
triosis patients with severe pain that
doesn’t respond to changes in diet or
lifestyle. But when I met with doc-
tors here, it was a medical showdown.
A primary care doctor suggested I skip
the diagnosis and get therapy to talk
out my issues. The OB-GYN I vis-
ited discouraged surgery or even an
MRI scan for further imaging. When I
pressed her reasoning, she didn’t know
what excision surgery was. When I
insisted on a referral to an endometrio-
sis specialist, she wasn’t familiar with
anyone who did that work, so I was on
my own to find someone.
Facebook saved the day. Thanks
to the social media group “Nancy’s
Nook,” created by a retired Pacific
Northwest registered nurse; I discov-
ered that there are eight endometrio-
sis specialists in the Portland area. In
comparison, several more populated
states only have one, and some have
zero.
I met with a specialist, who immedi-
ately suggested diagnostic surgery. So,
“Did they find anything?” Yes.
I have stage III, deeply infiltrat-
ing endometriosis, an aggressive form
of the condition. The irregularity
that appeared on my ultrasounds was
actually tissue that fused my organs
together and contorted them out of
anatomical place. Luckily, my doc-
tor could excise all of my lesions and
adhesions and put me back together
in a three-hour surgery. The ache that
never left is finally quiet, and I finally
have hope for a better quality of life.
I kept my struggle private for a long
time, but I hope my story might be
read by another woman in Astoria who
has endometriosis and may not real-
ize they may have a treatable condition
that their doctor doesn’t mention.
I urge Astoria doctors who treat
female gynecological issues to take
endometriosis seriously. Some patients
need more than therapy to live with
this debilitating condition. Believe
women who insist something is wrong
with their body. They should get famil-
iar with the wealth of experts who are
just a two-hour drive away so they can
suggest referrals to experts. Shorten
the time it takes for patients to get a
diagnosis.
There is no cure for endometrio-
sis yet, but there can be hope for better
days. The women of Astoria deserve it.
Nikki davidson is a former editor of
Coast Weekend.
I uRGE ASTORIA dOCTORS WHO TREAT FEMAlE GyNECOlOGICAl ISSuES TO TAKE ENdOMETRIOSIS
SERIOuSly. SOME pATIENTS NEEd MORE THAN THERApy TO lIVE WITH THIS dEBIlITATING
CONdITION. BElIEVE WOMEN WHO INSIST SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THEIR BOdy. THEy SHOuld
GET FAMIlIAR WITH THE WEAlTH OF EXpERTS WHO ARE JuST A TWO-HOuR dRIVE AWAy SO THEy CAN
SuGGEST REFERRAlS TO EXpERTS. SHORTEN THE TIME IT TAKES FOR pATIENTS TO GET A dIAGNOSIS.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Stop
I
n the U.S., approximately 1,600 youth
smoke their first cigarette each day. We
all know how detrimental smoking is to our
health. Yet here in Seaside, two local candy
stores continue to market gum and choco-
late in the form of candy cigarettes.
What are they thinking? Do they really
make such a profit on them to warrant mak-
ing cigarettes attractive to children? I have
asked both stores to stop selling them, but
have been met with resistance.
As a retired public health nurse, mother
and grandmother, I respectfully request
the stores to stop marketing cigarettes to
children.
SALLY GARDNER
Portland
Two questions
just have two questions.
Question No. 1: Who’s been in charge
of running the world, like, forever?
Question No. 2: How’s the world doin’?
War, pestilence, fire, flood, Facebook
— Isn’t it time to pick different kinds of
leaders?
(OK, that’s three questions.)
DONNA LEE ROLLINS
Astoria
I
Watch out, Mickey
he recent editorial cartoon, “Disney and
politics” (April 2), showing Mickey
Mouse getting zapped at an electric outlet,
leaves me wondering if readers understand
the voltage of politics which Disney has
plugged into.
The worldwide entertainment conglom-
erate has, within weeks, made at least two
interesting business decisions that are at
opposite ends of the political spectrum.
On the one hand, Disney+ is expand-
ing into Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco,
Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen — all of which
outlaw homosexuality.
On the other hand, however, Mickey
and the gang are getting involved in oppos-
ing Florida’s just passed Parental Rights in
Education law, which bans teachers from
giving classroom instruction on sexual ori-
T
LETTERS WELCOME
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Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
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Disney and others in the entertain-
ment industry are rightly getting shocked
when they stick their paws into the politi-
cal outlet.
I’m sure Walt Disney wouldn’t approve
of what the current ownership is doing with
his creation. If he was still alive, he’d prob-
ably tell them to entertain people, stay out
of politics, and quit acting Goofy.
MATT JANES
Jeffers Garden
Dreaming
entation or gender identity in kindergarten
through third grade.
Having dealt untold times with kids
aged in single digits as a substitute teacher,
I would find it difficult to approach these
topics at all with the youngsters.
Disney’s position is it’s OK to include
this in school curriculum to kids who can’t
tie their own shoes or pack their own lunch.
But they also find it kosher to do business
in countries that could execute a teacher for
even mentioning those terms to the kiddies.
umbest thing ever (at Heritage
Square)! A plaza may look OK in Port-
land (maybe not now), but until Astoria can
keep the blue tarps, garbage and carts out,
we are dreaming!
DICK DARBY
Astoria
D