00:00The outback can be an isolating life.
00:05Oh, you're all going to charge.
00:07And for women with endometriosis, it's even tougher.
00:11I feel like we're raised to be, you know, cowgirls don't cry.
00:14Toughen up, you'll be right. Get back on the saddle.
00:16The disease makes it harder for women like Ella Brady
00:20to work and live in western Queensland.
00:23Endometriosis is where tissue that is similar to the lining of the uterus
00:27is found in other parts of the body.
00:29Many women say it's still a taboo topic in the man's world of agriculture.
00:35Metro, I feel like there's more awareness coming forward,
00:38so they're kind of a bit more understanding towards it,
00:40whereas rural it can be a lot trickier.
00:42Right, you ready? Mm-hm.
00:43For cattle producer Kirsten Stokes,
00:46endometriosis is making it harder to conceive a second child.
00:50Now it's been two years in the process now
00:53of trying to fall pregnant again with no luck.
00:56The 26-year-old has limited options in the bush for treatment.
01:02I'll put my hand under it so you don't lose it.
01:04And is forced to travel thousands of kilometres for surgery.
01:08Many people aren't familiar with the city from out here,
01:10and it can be quite uncomfortable, quite a daunting experience.
01:14We see in the outback people travelling up to 15 hours
01:18just to see and access the care that they need.
01:21But to combat the isolation,
01:23Ella started her own social media page called Rural Endometriosis.
01:28So I was like, bugger it, I may as well just make my own,
01:30seeing as no-one else has done it.
01:32You know, I may be 100 kilometres from the closest town,
01:35but I'm not alone.
01:36That's where I guess social media comes into it as well.
01:38You do feel a bit more connected.
01:40Yeah, I feel like I have my chicks,
01:42and I can talk to them and they can talk to me.
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