I Spent Years On The Verge Of Death. I Couldn't Find A Doctor Who Would Listen To Me — Until I Said This.

On Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, I collapsed in the shower. I only remember bits and pieces of what happened next. I heard my partner’s voice telling me to open my eyes as he cleaned my vomit off me, but I was shivering and fighting to stay awake. I told him to leave the water running over my face and I’d be able to get up in a moment. Then I blacked out again.

I vaguely remember hearing him call an ambulance. “My girlfriend has been bleeding since Thursday, and she’s collapsed in the shower. I can’t keep her conscious. Send someone now.”

With my hair knotted and soaking, three paramedics had to brace me as I walked no more than 10 feet from the bathroom to the gurney in our bedroom. A short ambulance ride later, I was in the emergency room. It took four nurses to finally find a vein strong enough to get an IV in.

A blood test showed my hemoglobin at 5 grams per deciliter (g/dl). Women in their 30s should have a hemoglobin level of 12 to 13 g/dl. Less than 9, you need medical attention. Less than 8, you need a blood transfusion. They started the transfusion almost immediately. It took three days and five bags of blood to get my levels to a safe number: 9.8 when I left the hospital.

Meanwhile, a transvaginal ultrasound uncovered two sizable fibroids on my uterus. They were inflamed and bleeding. I almost bled to death and thought it was my period.

During my weeklong stay at the hospital, there were a lot of questions. Have you always had heavy menstrual cycles? Yes. When did you start having these large blood clots and regular breakthrough bleeding? About five years ago. Did you tell your OB-GYN? Yes.

Finally it was my turn to ask a question. How do I fix this?

Multiple options were explained to me. The fibroids could