How a Surgeon’s Mistake Almost Cost Me My Life

This is not an easy story to tell, but it’s one that needs to be told.

Busy hospital hallway.

For many years, I lived with stage 4 endometriosis. I had already undergone two ablation surgeries, both of which were presented to me as solutions. For a while, they seemed to help. But two to three years later, the pain returned—and this time, it was different. It was worse. More aggressive. And it was very specifically located in my lower right side.

I remember being terrified it was appendicitis. The pain was sharp, deep, and unrelenting. Imaging couldn’t clearly locate my appendix, but they did spot a leaking cyst—so the pain was blamed on that. Deep down, I knew that wasn’t the whole story. The pain felt too familiar. I knew my body. I knew endometriosis was back.

Waiting, While My Body Fell Apart

Eventually, my gynecologist said he was referring me to a clinic that handled “complicated cases.” I felt hopeful—until I learned the wait time.

It took one full year just to get the appointment.

When I finally saw the doctor, I wasn’t treated like a human being. I wasn’t listened to. I wasn’t believed. I tried—over and over—to explain that this pain was exactly how my endometriosis had felt before. That I knew my body. That something was seriously wrong.

Instead, I was dismissed.

I was placed on multiple prescriptions, one after another. None of them helped. Months went by. My pain worsened. My quality of life disappeared.

Finally—finally—the doctor agreed to operate.

But even then, there was another nine-month wait.

So I waited in unbearable pain. Mostly bedridden. Unable to function.

That stretch of time broke me in ways I still struggle to put into words.

“I Didn’t Expect to Find This”

When surgery day finally came, I was told that if any endometriosis was found, excision would be done. When the surgeon opened me up, he found what I had known all along, except worse. much worse. My pelvis was frozen. My fallopian tubes were deformed. Endometriosis had destroyed my appendix.

It was a mess.

The doctor did what he could, but the truth is, the case was far beyond his skill level. Endometriosis was left behind, including disease on my ureter—something that, if untreated, can silently cut off kidney function and lead to kidney loss.

But the worst mistake, the one that nearly cost me my life, came next.

Flowers growing in cracks.

The Mistake That Changed Everything

In an attempt to control my heavy, long periods, ablation was performed inside my uterus.

What the doctor did not know, or did not properly assess, was that I had severe, deep adenomyosis.

That decision set off a chain reaction I wouldn’t survive much longer.

For the next year after surgery, I experienced monthly, cyclical flare-ups. There was no external bleeding, but inside my body, something catastrophic was happening.

During these episodes, I was half-comatose. The pain was so intense I could not speak. I could not move. I lay frozen in bed, unable even to have my children lie beside me.

It felt like the ground opened up and swallowed me whole, like I was no longer in this world, but trapped in another dimension made entirely of pain.

I became terrified. Because I knew this would happen again. And again. Every single month.

I could not live like this.

And honestly, I wasn’t sure I would survive it.

Why Endometriosis Canada Exists

Out of desperation, I turned to online support groups. As much as I love my family and friends, no one truly understands this kind of pain unless they’ve lived it.

I found many groups in the U.S. But none for Canada.

And that’s when I realized: Canadians needed a space. A place to share, to support, to learn, and to not feel so alone.

That’s how Endometriosis Canada was born.

San Francisco landscape.

Leaving the Country to Stay Alive

I knew I had to get better—because my children needed me.

So I did something I never imagined I would have to do: I reached out to Dr. Seckin and Dr. Nezhat in the United States and shared my story.

Both agreed to take my case.

I ultimately saw Dr. Nezhat in California. Within two weeks, I was in his care, a stark contrast to the years I had waited in Canada.

From the moment he met me, he showed empathy. When he saw the burn marks on my abdomen from overusing heating pads just to survive the pain, he understood immediately.

In a single visit, he diagnosed me with adenomyosis.

For the first time in years, I felt heard.

He hugged me. Called me his “Canadian friend.” Treated me with kindness I didn’t know still existed in medicine.

The Surgery That Saved My Life

After surgery, a nurse told me something I’ll never forget: I was very lucky to have Dr. Nezhat as my surgeon.

When they opened me up, there was extensive bleeding and oozing. The situation was dangerous and difficult to control, but I had an exceptionally skilled surgeon.

He successfully removed:

• Endometriosis from my ureter

• My uterus and cervix

• Multiple large tumors found within my uterus

Two weeks later, I was doing light grocery shopping on my own.

I had never healed so quickly from surgery in my life.

And while I still live with the realities of endometriosis, the pain has never again reached the level it was before my uterus was removed.

I truly believe Dr. Nezhat saved my life.

Why We List U.S. Surgeons

People often ask why Endometriosis Canada includes some U.S. surgeons on our website.

This is why.

Canada has an outrageous shortage of true endometriosis specialists. And while there are excellent doctors here, even the best can make mistakes—or may not have the skillset for the most complex cases. And patients deserve to have all options presented to them, whether those options are in Canada or not.

My only ask of doctors is this:

If you do not have the skillset to help a patient, please be honest.

There is no shame in that.

The harm comes from incomplete surgery, dismissal, abandonment, and leaving patients trapped on prescriptions meant only to suppress symptoms—not treat disease.

Blocking periods for life is not a solution. It is a band-aid.

So No One Else Has to Live This

I share this story so no one else has to come this close to losing their life.

Through Endometriosis Canada, my hope is that patients are heard sooner, treated properly, and never left alone in their suffering.

If you’ve been dismissed—If you know something is wrong—If your pain feels “too familiar”—

Please trust yourself.

Your body is not lying to you. And your life is worth fighting for.