What Do You Get For The Doctor Who Has Done Everything?

What a difference a year can make.

I feel like I’ve been finding myself saying that a lot lately. Hitting important milestones, and realizing that the ache in my heart is nowhere near as severe as it was the year before. Finding myself shocked at my own emotional healing – something I really wasn’t sure was even possible after those failed cycles of mine.

But the emotional healing isn’t the only thing I’ve achieved, and today is an important milestone that really did deserve to be recognized.

Because a year ago today, I was having a five hour surgery with Dr. Cook from Vital Health Institute. One of the top specialists in this country when it comes to treating endometriosis, he and his staff bent over backwards to get me there and provide me with the surgery I desperately needed – solely because he was convinced he could help.

I wasn’t so sure. I knew that his method of treating endometriosis was different from any other doctor I had spoken to, and I knew that I loved his enthusiasm and passion for helping women with this disease, but… After 2 previous surgeries which found me back in pain within just a few months each time, and an onslaught of drugs that had only ever left me feeling even more sick; I was having a difficult time holding out much hope that anything would ever help.

Before surgery, I was in persistent pain. The kind of pain that made it difficult for me to get through most days and had me relying on narcotics far more than I was proud of. The kind of pain that made it impossible for me to complete even the simplest of workouts, and had me confined to my bed more often than not.

I would get my period and lose the ability to eat for days on end. My entire stomach clenching up and shutting down in reaction to the endometriosis that had spread everywhere. The pain had started traveling up to my shoulder as a result of the endo that had found its way up to my spleen. Even when I wasn’t on my period, the damage caused by endometriosis left my hips and low back constantly aching. My stomach was in an unrelenting state of bloat, and I was always keenly aware of how tender my ovaries were. Sometimes, it hurt too much simply to move.

I was in rough shape, and had hit a point where I was losing a vast majority of the fight I had in me. No one had ever told me that endometriosis could get this bad. I had always seen it as a disease that led simply to painful periods. I could feel some around me starting to question what I was going through themselves; this disease not easy to explain in its simplest form, but certainly not when it has reached stage IV and is attacking multiple organs throughout the abdominal cavity.

Everything hurt. Always. And the physical pain was a constant reminder of what this disease had taken away from me. I wanted it gone. I wanted to be able to get back to living my life. But, I had started to lose hope. I couldn’t wrap my head around anything ever really making that difference for me at this point.

And then, my doctor in Alaska told me that she wasn’t sure there was anything more she could do for me beyond a hysterectomy – an option I just couldn’t bring myself to consider at all. This was a doctor I trusted though. A doctor I still trust. But she had run through her magic bag of tricks, and nothing had seemed to work. She was at as much of a loss as I was, and could do nothing more than remind me that my case was one of the most extreme she had ever seen.

It was hitting this wall and feeling like no one could help that led to me finding just enough fight in me to keep looking. To keep searching for answers. And to seek out someone in this country who actually specialized in the treatment of this disease.

Because I wasn't ready to give up yet. This wasn't a fate I was ready to accept.

That list was short, and I realized all too quickly that endometriosis was a disease where most doctors treating it had very little training in how to best go about that. Seeing your gynecologist for the treatment of this disease was like seeing your family care provider for the treatment of cancer. In the long run, it made absolutely no sense at all.

But the specialists were few and far between, and most were expensive and booked months in advance. I didn’t know what to do, so I did the only thing I could do – I sent my medical records to the top two I could find and sat back and hoped for answers.

Dr. Cook at Vital Health Institute called me back within days. And during that free phone consultation, I realized quickly that he had experience with treating this disease that far surpassed what my doctor could offer me. I knew almost immediately that I wanted to travel to California to see him, but realized pretty quickly that I just could not afford all that trip would entail. I was devastated. Heartbroken and angry that I wasn’t even in a position to try. I cried for days over my inability to make it all work, and eventually called his office to explain that I just could not afford the surgery. I thanked them for their time, and attempted to get off the phone without letting my own heartbreak shine through.

It wasn't long though before Dr. Cook called me personally. He said he had spoken to his financial office, and he understood my situation. Then he told me that cases like mine were the reason he had gone into the treatment of this disease, and he truly believed he could help me. He wanted to help me. So we sat on the phone, and hammered out different ways to make this work – including how to take on my insurance company to get them to cover as much as possible. In the end, he bent over backwards to ensure I could have this surgery. And once I had the approval, he got me on his schedule in just a few week’s time. He truly went above and beyond what anyone would ever expected a specialist of his caliber to do, for no other reason than because he cared.

When I arrived in California and had my first pre-op appointment with him, I had to fight back the tears as I sat in his office describing what this disease had done to me and all it had taken away. I explained that I just wanted to feel like myself again. That I just wanted to be able to move on with my life feeling as healthy and whole as possible.

He told me he could help.

And a year ago today, he performed miracles.

My dad told me that when Dr. Cook came to speak to him after surgery, he seemed exhausted. And even a little surprised at how bad things had actually been. My uterus and bowel were completely fused together by scar tissue and endometriosis, endometriomas were overtaking my ovaries, and diseased tissue had found its way much higher in my abdominal cavity than would typically be normal.

But, he had gotten it all. For the first time, a doctor was able to confirm that they had gotten it all.

I was officially endometriosis free.

That really is one of the biggest pieces of Dr. Cook’s philosophies. So many doctors open women up and clean them out as best they can, while leaving a good deal of diseased tissue behind because they don’t have the specialized experience to remove it all – especially from vital organs. Each of my previous surgeries had lasted no more than 2 hours before my doctor had closed me up proclaiming she had done the best that she could do. Dr. Cook firmly believes that leaving behind any endometriosis at all though, only encourages future spreading. In his opinion, if you aren’t going to get it all – it’s not worth performing the surgery in the first place.

And he does this all laparoscopically. I actually received a phone call from the surgeon who assisted with my procedure a few days after the fact, and he told me that any other doctor would have taken one look inside of me and opted to open me up completely to do what needed to be done. He said Dr. Cook really was one of the best he had ever witnessed, and that he couldn't believe he had been able to make the progress he had with me laparoscopically. Then he warned me not to let those small incisions fool me, because my body had been put through the ringer to rid it of endometriosis and recovery was going to be rough.

I definitely felt the effects of that more aggressive approach in the days that followed. Unlike my previous two surgeries (which I had recovered from within a few days), this one left me feeling like I had been hit by a truck. Recovery definitely took more time than it had in the past, but I was hopeful that was a good sign. That it was an indication of what a difference this surgery would actually make in the end.

And I was right. One month post-surgery, I was signing up for my first Pilates boot camp. Feeling like I had the strength to commit myself to a workout routine for the first time in years. I cried that first session – something inside of me letting loose that I had been holding on to for far too long.

And from there, I flourished. Today, I am 15 pounds lighter than I was pre-surgery. I am strong, and healthy, and active, and whole. I have started running again, and have found myself so excited to be living my life the way I want to live it. While there are still occasional moments of aches and pain, it is rarely ever anything I need more than an Ibuprofen to treat. And that pain is usually just as quick to retreat as it was to appear. This last visit from Jack was the easiest I have had in years. I never even needed a single ibuprofen to help get me through. I was able to handle it all on my own, while still remaining functional, and active, and… normal.

It brings tears to my eyes right now, just thinking about what a difference a year has made.

What a difference Dr. Cook has made.

All along he has supported my desire to treat this disease naturally, and has reminded me that if he did his job correctly – I shouldn’t need the onslaught of drugs other doctors kept trying to push on me. He has always maintained that if I ever hit that point of pain again, he will go just as far to get me out of it. But for now, I am able to live my life without worrying about that. I take my supplements, I eat right, I workout, and… I don’t find myself obsessed with what my future with endometriosis holds anymore. Because with that pain relieved, I am able to move forward without fear or constant reminders of what’s been lost.

I am able to move forward, focused on how much I still have.

So what do you get for the doctor who has done everything? How do you ever truly thank someone who has made such a difference in your life?

Well, unfortunately – nothing I could ever give would feel like enough. But I did send the office a box of chocolate covered strawberries and a note today. Because I felt like I should do something. Because they’ve already done so much for me.

Just for the record – I’m not under any kind of contract or agreement with Dr. Cook or Vital Health Institute. Everything I have ever said about them has come 100% from the heart. They truly did help to give me my life back, and for that – I will be forever grateful. If you are a woman who has struggled with endometriosis, I strongly encourage you to send your records to them. Dr. Cook conducts all phone consults for free, which means that at the very least – you could get an experts opinion on your case without having to make any kind of commitment at all. You’ve really got nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

I know that for me, the day I sent my records over to their office was the turning point.

And today, I am healthy and strong and relatively pain free… because of them.

Which is kind of amazing when you think about it.