How Victoria Overcame Fibroids

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Hi my name is Victory and I'm an IT professional I'm here to talk about my experience with fibroid and how I overcame it my experience with fibroid started over six to seven years ago I found out I had the uterine fibroids when I went to serve I think I was at age 23 then so initially the doctors could not really pinpoint what was going on because the abdominal pains were severe they initially thought it was a UTI so the hospital I went to was like we've done some scans we've done blood tests we've done urinalysis and they were unable to see what was the root cause of my abdominal pain so the doctor in that hospital referred me to a specialist Hospital in Akwa Ibom state so that was where I served so when I got to the teaching Hospital in Akwa Ibom state I went to the gynae department and from The gynae department they asked me to go through the lab for an ultra-scan so I went there I was asked to take a lot of water make sure I was very pressed so that they can be able to see so the kind of scan they did was different from the one I've been doing in the previous hospital so when the results came out I was redirected because they didn't give me my results immediately I was redirected to the gynaecologist on duty so he called me and asked me if I was married if I had taken in before so many personal questions that doctors asked so I gave him no that I'm not married I'm single and I've not taken in before and so he said from the test results you can see that I have a uterine fibroid and it's somewhere located on the outer lining of my womb so I asked him because I was like the first time I was hearing it as I'm a graduate then I did not know what fibroid was you can imagine the level of information we don't have access to so I started asking questions like I said I've never heard of fibroid before can you educate me more because the way you're sounding I feel like I have cancer or something so I was scared and it was all new to me I didn't know how to go about it, so he was like oh it's nothing serious for now it is minute is like the size of a baseball egg or like a golf ball and it's not really affect me so and I asked him what about my chances of taking in should I want to get married in the future so he was like no, no problem I can go ahead to start a family if I want to but he will advise me that the earlier the better so I had to just live my life I wasn't really having any serious symptoms then until 2019 2019 2020 During the period of lockdown depends were too much my menstrual flow was Heavy I was having severe bleeding it was so painful most times when I tried to let people know what is going on with me they're like you don't look sick you don't look like somebody that is going through something I'm like how will somebody who is in pain dress should I write a signboard on my forehead writing I have fibroid or should I put a placard on my neck to announce to the whole world that I'm sick so it made me feel very shy to share my pain or how I was feeling with people because they always try to downplay whatever I'm feeling try to downplay my emotions and how I was feeling physically especially in my place of work when you tell them that I'm having so so, so issue I need time off work they make it seem like you're trying to take excuses from work and you don't want to work so this is something I will not wish for my enemy it was really really painful for me I don't know which one hurt more if it was the physical complications or the kind of things I was hearing from people some would be like ah she has done abortion that is why that is why she has fibroid that it cannot happen to people who have never had um abortion so I was like you can't say that because I read online even virgins have fibroids you cannot say it's because of somebody's lifestyle or somewhere like ah she doesn't pray enough I was more strong in faith that God is punishing me so I don't know which one hurt more if it was what people were saying or the physical complications I was going through you hear things like ah she's not strong with faith she's not a Christian she's not a true Christian or you, you can just be standing on your own going about your daily activity so just come and poke your stomach why is your stomach so big why are you so big you need to lose weight they start recommending things and giving me advice on my physical life on how to live my life without even knowing half of what I'm going through so most times when things like that happen I just shut down like in terms of my social life my social life was just dead I found it difficult to make friends because many of them can't relate when you tell them what's going on they'll be like are you the only one I think we as a society we need to stop this issue of trying to downplay people's feelings especially when people come out to tell you this is what I'm going through you don't just tell people that you don't look like you are sick you're adding weight and you say you are sick I'm like how does someone who is sick look like please I still don't know do we have a uniform that we should wear let me know so because I said then like I couldn't talk to anybody I was like in a very deep hole of depression my way of life really changed because of fibroid like oh mehn I'm sorry anytime I talk about is always so emotional because as a single person, because as a single person it is more because they feel ah that is the reason why your life is the way it is that that is why men are not forthcoming I've been engaged twice it's more on WE ladies are single when you tell people you have fibroids they attribute it to your lifestyle of the fact that you're still single that is why it's happening but God is indirectly trying to punish me or punish us so I as at then when I told them people I was previously engaged so that this is this is what I was going through so one of them was like ah your sister is a nurse and he spoke to her about my condition and she told him that people who have fibroids don't have children that he will not go on with whatever we were planning to do that shut me down like if that is what can be coming from a woman talk more a nurse that means she's a misinformed spreading information I'm like you could have at least followed me to the hospital hear from my doctor I've gone for fertility test and I don't have any issue with my fertility it is just something that happens to any woman of child Brain Age so that won't happen and it left the second one came I opened up oh this is what I'm battling and I'm trying to resolve it I'm just scared of going for surgery and stuff like that so that one happened it went with the wind I fell down again I felt depressed it was like my whole world was coming to an end, at work I won't be able to concentrate I won't be able to do anything because it's like it took over my life anything I wanted to have to put fibroid first it was like my first child anything I want to do if I'm going out I'll check my calendar for my period it's also like like my first child, my Invisible Baby I have to put fibroid first before myself if I want to eat anything fibroid first. I want to wear anything fibroid first I have to check if the clothes will expose my stomach because I was already weary of people asking me questions about my tummy ah when were you put to bed many of them found this funny but it was really really painful and so initially I didn't want to go under the knife because I already had the option to go under the knife but I was scared because the last time I went to another knife it's not like it wasn't successful I stayed under because I I had to go under anaesthesia and I didn't go for the option of numbing because I shake at the sight of blood so it's either Anaesthesia or nothing for me so the last time I went on that it took me a while to come out of I was like oh God I don't want to do it anymore so someone introduced me to a support group on Instagram so the owner of the support group her name is um lady Oyinkan she has like a support group for Gynaecology issues she calls it my Gynae so I came in contact with her she's a member of the W Community of Access Bank so we exchanged details and I told her about my situation that I don't want to go under the knife and I'm looking for an alternative she was like okay no problem then I shared my issues with her my depression and everything so she added me to a support group where we talked to people people talk to us and share their story of how they overcame fibroid so on the first week of April last year she sent me a email template from W community of Access Bank she said she got it in her mailbox and she feels this would helped me since I don't want to go under the knife so I was like okay fine no problem let me go through it so I responded to her like ah this is coming from there are many people how am I sure that they will choose me so I was of the mindset that ah they already have the winner and stuff like that because I've never been lucky with anything online that was my mindset she was like just give it a try that I've been a member of this group and I see what they they've been doing for women just give it a try bring your heart out write it as you feel on the essay just write how fibroid has affected your life and how it's trying to take over everything because okay fine no problem I'll do that so that was what I did I sent the email to the W Community of Access Bank that same April then I got the feedback in me that I've been selected to go to the first stage so that the first stage I was told that it has different steps that being the first stage doesn't mean I'll get to the last one that I have to it all depends on what the doctor sees in my blood so I was like okay fine no problem I think I can't remember the person who called me from the W community of access but she explained everything to me and made sure I understood that I have to undergo series of tests before I will be selected for the final selection so the series of steps were were so much I can only mention the field that I can remember I had to do a pap smear I had to do a blood test genotype, HIV, breast cancer test anything just to ensure that my immune system everything concerning my general well-being is okay before I'll be able to undergo the procedure so after which it took a period of a week or two weeks then I was scheduled to go for an MRI after the MRI I submitted the results at the Nordica fibroid Care Center in Lekki so after which I was still told the same thing that if my results from the MRI is conclusive and permits me to go for the procedure I will be contacted so I was contacted in June last year to come for my procedure and also prep for it because you have to prep normally like you're having a surgery and everything. I cannot begin to thank God enough for what the W community of Access Bank has done for someone like me this is something I've battled for years it's not like I've not had instances where people recommend things to me to the extent that I drank camphor and alligator Pepper they mixed it with dry gin and asked me to drink so everybody around me became a personal adviser, a personal doctor trying to provide different solutions to the issue I had with fibroid I know that it was coming from a place of love but I know better now and anybody in my position I would always advise them to speak out no matter what people say they will always say bad things but it should not stop them from seeking help because I can imagine if I had kept quiet I'd not reached out to the support group that introduced me to W Community I'm not sure I'll be sitting here today to share my story or to even have these new ease of life so this initiative from Access Bank W Community has really turned my life around fibroid is behind me it's not even in my rear view anymore so I've gone for my three months check-up, six months post check-up ,and nine month post check-up everything looks good and my doctor has okayed me , my symptoms have disappeared unlike before where I have my bloated tummy, frequent urination if I was doing a competition with a pregnant woman I think I'll win her because I can pee as high as 50 times a day if possible if I'm given the chance so I don't want to find myself in traffic during the period I still had fibroid I don't want to be in traffic because I can pee literally anywhere whether it's clean or is dirty. fibroid has to go it has to go so it's really took control of my life life and I am glad I was able to be one of the beneficiaries for this initiative by access bank so I'm really grateful to The W Community for giving me this opportunity to have the kind of procedure I wanted and changing my total outlook on life and I'm grateful so I would like to encourage other women to speak up, open up, and share their story if you know anybody going through what I went through Access Bank is currently launching their Access Bank Retail Banking CSR initiative called the project 111 where you can reach one woman one family and a society at large please feel free to tell your friends your sisters, your aunties, your loved one anybody you feel needs this initiative or needs this help please let them know because information is very key because I wish I had a lot of information I had previously or I had the kind of support I had in the beginning I'm not sure I would have had fibroid for that long so information is very key let's spread the word, let's end the stigmatization let’s end the unnecessary comments, unnecessary compliments and indirect body shaming, let's end it and that change we want starts with you. Please follow Project 111 as they will be posting more updates on how you can share with your friends family loved ones and spread the word spread the information you don't know who you might be helping.

Thank you