As we mark World Fibroids Awareness Month, media personality Grace Msalame has opened up about her journey with fibroids.
Grace, who is a mother of two, says that she ignored her body even when she knew something was not right.
My fibroid showed 2 years ago so the doctor suggested we just ignore it. He said it would disappear and sure enough it did.
Last year I started having heavy bleeding which lasted for 7-8 days and I would have painful cramps.
I knew something was wrong but I was afraid of going to the doctor because I was afraid of him confirming the worst.
When I went to the doctor, he found my fibroid had grown to 7 cm -10cm and there were little ones surrounding it.
Grace adds
I went through open surgery immediately.
I have been through CS before and I thought I would not have had an easy time snapping back to health.
But I think that is the toughest journey I have come out of. I don’t know if it is because I am older.
It was a journey and it affects your esteem. After the surgery it takes time to get back to your former body.
Grace says that at some point people assumed she had fibroids because her uterus was ’empty’ .
This is because her twins are 8 and she has no other kids.
In conclusion she says
They were removed and all we are doing now is to pray and hope that they don’t reoccur as the only solution to fibroids is to have the uterus removed (Hysterectomy).
Tabitha adds that she really wants to give her husband a child
I would do anything to be able to give him that baby but I cannot do it.
I always see how much he loves kids.
Something I am yet to come to terms with is the fact that I might never be able to give my husband a child.
I have been to surgery three times and every time I would go home to recover I would get into depression.
I am tired of the pity party. I am tired of being angry at everyone. One day I even asked God to just let me not wake up.
Tabitha Njambi
Tabby went on to add that in March this year she had been pregnant but sadly the pregnancy did not go to term.
‘Not many people know this but in March this year I was pregnant and that gave me some hope.
We kept the news between my husband and I.
That means I can get pregnant because there was a heartbeat, the issue is carrying the pregnancy to term.
Tabitha has symptomatic fibroids meaning that they have grown inside the uterine cavity meaning when the child is trying to grow the fibroids compete for nutrients hence miscarriages.
I have been pregnant twice the last two years.There are so many misconceptions on fibroids and people need to be educated.
I have missed so many events because I do not leave my house the first five days of my period. People sometimes feel like you are intentionally doing it.
I pray and hope that one day they will understand, it’s the only thing I can do.