Help, and Hope, for a Teenage Ballerina
The Aziza Project is partnered with Dr. Corey Babb to help improve the lives of women with complex gynecologic concerns. We’ve been fundraising this week to help pay for a virtual consultation for a teenage pre-professional ballerina who suffers from abnormally heavy & long periods. 6 donations of $25 will get us to the finish line!
Here’s her story, as told by her mother.
“I knew something was askew when my teen asked what was available beyond a “super tampon”. When I asked her why, she said it was because she was soaking through a super tampon in about an hour during dance class.
A super tampon can hold the equivalent of 2.5 teaspoons. Simple math would tell me my daughter was bleeding way too much. The average period is only a few tablespoons total. She is easily losing triple the normal amount.
Along with her excessive bleeding, she has irregular periods & abnormal cycle lengths. Sometimes the bleeding lasts for several weeks and it’s not uncommon for her to pass blood clots.
She gets debilitating migraines, shows signs of anemia, gets light-headed upon standing, and feels like she’s going to pass out, especially while dancing. She did pass out during her last blood draw, which was terrifying to watch.
She gets extreme pain where her ovaries are, and has been subjected to at least one traumatic gynecologic exam.
Local doctors can’t diagnose or truly help her but want us to consider strong birth control, with no real answer. I know that’s not a great idea for a teenager nor is it a solution. I want to understand why this is happening and what can be done about it. She deserves a better quality of life even though she’s such a trooper about it all.
She wants to be able to chase her dreams, be able to function somewhat normally with a normal cycle, and not constantly have to worry if she’s bleeding through a Super PLUS SPORTS tampon or going to pass out during class or a dance show.”
Donations to help others like this young ballerina can be made online and are tax-deductible.
