The Endomarch 2014

Thursday 13th March, 2014. This was the day when women all over the world came together, for the first time, to raise much needed awareness for Endometriosis. I am so pleased to have been a part of it. My day started very early! At 5:30 am, my wonderful mother and I left Cardiff to travel to London. I had arranged to meet some endosisters from Twitter in Starbucks beforehand, then walk to the event together. When I arrived, I was the first one there. I was so excited but so nervous at the same time! I had been talking to these women for months, sharing ins and outs, and today was the day we would meet. It was like pre-date nerves! Soon, everyone started turning up and I couldn't have been put more at ease. The ladies were lovely. Straight away we fell into chatting about endo, our symptoms and most of all, how thankful we were for Twitter giving us a platform to be completely open and honest with others who understand. I felt normal! My stomach was extremely swollen, which I was so conscious about. I had planned to try and cover it, hold my bag in front of it, keep my jacket on etc... But do you know what - being with these ladies made me realise they all experience this - and I wasn't alone. I didn't have to hide or pretend for a change and that was lovely. 

When we arrived at Kensington Gardens, a crowd had already started to gather. We all set off on our march with sashes, badges, yellow headbands, banners and posters. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters and partners all there for support. The sun had come out too, everything was just perfect. Trevor Dahl, the Chairman of Endometriosis UK, gave such a heart warming and motivational speech. A lovely group of school children were nearby and cheered louder than us! I think they were in a competition with us all, which was so funny, but it definitely got attention! I was pleased to have a chat with Trevor afterwards and can honestly say what a lovely, genuine and caring man he is. We are so lucky in the UK to have him involved with our Endometriosis charity. In front of the Albert Memorial, we all posed for our group photo and set off to finish the march. 

Being able to talk face to face with other endosisters was priceless. Although a few of us had to confirm each other by our twitter names, which was hilarious! We should have all had our Twitter names on some badges to make it easier! It was brilliant to be surrounded by people who wanted to help raise awareness and who actually understood our daily struggles. We certainly created a buzz, an atmosphere and a visual impact in Kensington Gardens. Many members of the public approached the crowd throughout the day to ask what was going on. We got people talking and that's a start! The Million Women March event wanted to empower, educate and effect change. I for one certainly felt empowered and united. I just hope that our voices will now be heard! Here's to 2015 :) 

#MyEndoDiary