- 2 hours ago
An honest conversation about the conditions Black women have been told to tolerate for too long. Presented by Always, this is a space to discuss the symptoms, share what works, and leave with the language and care your body deserves.
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00:00Hi, everybody.
00:01All right.
00:03Full house.
00:05Like, and can everyone see for anyone who needs?
00:11All right, let me actually, I'm gonna be over here.
00:14Can you see me?
00:15Okay, from here?
00:17Okay.
00:18All right.
00:19Hey, everybody.
00:20Welcome, welcome.
00:22Raise your hand if this is the first time
00:24you're visiting the talking circle.
00:27All right, I love it.
00:28Fresh audience.
00:29So I'm gonna reset the room, but I will say welcome.
00:33I'm sorry if my back is to you.
00:35So this is the talking circle.
00:38And my name is Erica Chitty.
00:40I am the SVP of brand and editorial content for Unbothered.
00:45For those that don't know,
00:46Unbothered is a sister brand to Essence.
00:49It's been around for, I think, almost a decade.
00:52And it's really focused on helping black women feel seen,
00:57feel heard, feel celebrated,
00:58especially as it relates to entertainment and culture.
01:01But in February, I got brought on to help evolve the brand from entertainment and culture
01:06to well-being and culture.
01:08Because we need to be learning more about how we take care of ourselves and how we take care of
01:13our bodies.
01:14And so my background, 15 years in women's health, I like to say I've spent my life helping women tell
01:20the stories of their bodies to themselves, to each other, because if we can't talk about our bodies, we can't
01:27save our bodies, right?
01:29And so that's what today is really going to be about.
01:31Also, this talking circle shape that you're in is very much my baby.
01:37I really push to not have a traditional stage, but to have a place where women would automatically feel cozy
01:43and ready to lean in and talk or admit something to themselves inside their bodies that maybe they haven't been
01:49able to.
01:49Because when's the last time you sat in a circle with people like this?
01:54Kindergarten.
01:54Kindergarten.
01:55That's the second time today someone said that.
01:57And that's actually the feeling that we want to evoke in this room is a childlike nature, a childlike curiosity,
02:03a childlike sense of safety as we move into this conversation.
02:07So I'm super excited to open this up.
02:10And so a couple other quick circle rules.
02:13There's no speakers.
02:15There's no leaders.
02:17There's no hierarchy in this room.
02:19What we have are keepers.
02:21I will be one of your keepers, meaning that I'm just here to keep things flowing, make sure that you're
02:25comfortable, that you feel seen, you feel heard, you feel met.
02:28If you need a tissue, I'm going to grab you a tissue.
02:31And then we have anchors, which are these three beautiful women here who are going to root the conversation, bring
02:36their collective wisdom and expertise in.
02:39And then the third role in the circle is the circle, all of you.
02:42So we really want to hear from you.
02:44Feel free.
02:45We have a roving mic.
02:46I will come and bring it to you if you have a question, you have something you want to say.
02:50Because this conversation will probably give you something to say.
02:54And if not, to say, to think about.
02:56So, last thing I'm going to do is what we call the clearing.
03:00And what that does is it basically just sets the energy in the room.
03:03It says, I'm here.
03:04What's out there is out there.
03:06And what's in here is what I'm showing up for.
03:08So, it's really easy.
03:10You just rub your hands together.
03:15Would you like to come inside if you're standing?
03:17Come inside.
03:18You're right here.
03:20You can just climb up on the rafter right there.
03:22Come on in.
03:23Yeah.
03:24Right over there.
03:25Vita, is there anybody else behind you?
03:27You good?
03:28Okay.
03:29And if more people come, just give them the directive.
03:31Just go to the risers.
03:32There's totally still space.
03:35Okay.
03:36Let's do it again.
03:36Okay, let's go.
03:37Really fast.
03:38Really, really, really fast.
03:39And I'm going to count to three.
03:40And on three, we're just going to clap one time.
03:43So, get ready.
03:44It's really simple.
03:45One.
03:47Two.
03:48Three.
03:49Three.
03:50Very good, actually.
03:52I'll pass it over to our anchors.
03:55Hi, everybody.
03:57So, I would love to know who's in the room today.
04:01So, raise your hand if you've ever had any issues with your period, whether it was pain,
04:10whether it just didn't show up at all.
04:13Well, I'd also like to know if anyone here has ever dealt with fibroids, whether in the
04:19past, currently, or you're trying to figure that out.
04:24Okay.
04:25So, you guys are all in the right room today because we have two amazing experts.
04:32We have Dr. Chambers, a.k.a. the period doctor.
04:37Hello, everyone.
04:37Good to see you again.
04:39OB-GYN, author, and speaker.
04:44And we also have Sateria, who is the founder and the CEO of the Fibroid Foundation.
04:51Hello.
04:51It's so good to see you all.
04:54Thank you for being here.
04:55Yes.
04:56So, I'll let them take it away.
04:58I really want you guys to anchor this talk, tell your story, and we're just, I'm just here
05:05to learn.
05:05So, thank you so much.
05:08I'm happy to just lean in.
05:10One, I just want to commend you all for walking over here and gathering in an area where you
05:16can lean in and lean into your experience and hopefully get the support and education
05:21and encouragement and just back rub or whatever you need.
05:24I truly believe we need to be creating more safe spaces like these that are intentional.
05:31People tell me all the time, you are so niche.
05:33I'm like, but I am so needed.
05:35And that is the problem.
05:37Things that are needed, they categorize as niche.
05:40But I center black women in your lived experiences and I care deeply about it.
05:45And so, I want to thank you and honor you for letting me be in this space with you as
05:50a
05:50black woman who menstruates as well, who has had her own health battles.
05:53I want you to see me as someone who sees you fully and is grateful to be in this room.
06:01So, seeing all of you here today is the absolute favorite part of my job.
06:09Being able to talk with you and hear your stories and help.
06:15I really always want to help people to elevate above a challenging situation.
06:23And if you've had challenges with fibroids, I've been where you are.
06:27I made a complete career change because life brought me, brought to my doorstep for fibroid
06:35surgeries.
06:35And I did not realize the impact.
06:39I thought I was by myself.
06:41I was living in Chicago, which is a major metropolitan city.
06:45And at that time, couldn't find a provider like Dr. Gillespie Bell to help me through my
06:51symptoms.
06:51And I really just launched this journey, which now has reached over 180 countries.
07:02So, we have chapters set up, which I hope you all will consider joining so that you can reach
07:08the women and menstruators in your community who need assistance and information.
07:14The Southeast is more prone to having providers recommend hysterectomy, so where we are right
07:23now.
07:24And I want to applaud the fellas, anyone without a uterus, we need you in this conversation.
07:31Yes.
07:31We need you to talk to your friends about it so that they can support their partners and
07:38sisters and mothers through this journey.
07:41So, we're looking forward to really, you know, being an anchor for you today to help you with
07:49any questions you may have and to help you feel comfortable about advocating for yourself
07:56and your health because you're the expert in your body.
08:00You know your body.
08:02You know what's typical.
08:03You know what's not.
08:04And you also, and this is really important, you know what is a priority for you in terms of you
08:12feeling better and what, if anything, you'd like to see change.
08:16And so, we're here to help you find the language and the tools to vocalize that if you need it.
08:24Some people don't.
08:25But to help you have a better outcome and to thrive.
08:30I really want us to all go from suffering to thriving.
08:33And I found that in my advocacy walk when I was sitting in a research meeting and I was
08:39hemorrhaging, I was far less equipped to really advocate for the community than when those symptoms
08:46had ended for me.
08:48I had a lot more bandwidth.
08:50So, I'm happy to have the bandwidth for all of you today to help you to advocate and find
08:57the solutions that you need and get past this.
09:01I'll give one quick example.
09:03There was a woman in Kentucky.
09:06It was the week before Christmas.
09:08She had been to three doctors who told her to have a hysterectomy.
09:12Her fibroid mass was the size of a basketball.
09:19And we got on the phone and found her a provider who was able to remove her fibroids and keep
09:28her uterus intact.
09:30And we did that over the Christmas holiday.
09:33So, that's why we're here.
09:38And so, I'll turn it back over to you.
09:42So, I'd like to get you all talking.
09:46I want to know if anyone has a story, a period story, that they'd like to share with us.
09:54It can be anything.
09:56Whatever is on your heart.
10:00Yes, queen.
10:02You look like the sunrise.
10:04You look well.
10:05I mean, how deep are we going with the period story?
10:08As deep as you want to go.
10:13So, it's like as soon as you get the microphone, it makes you want to like release it.
10:18So, I'll never forget when at postpartum, I had hormonal shifts in my body.
10:25I developed estrogen dominance before I even knew what that was.
10:29And I was on a double date with my husband.
10:32And while I was sitting at the table wearing the biggest pad I could find and a tampon,
10:37I started gushing blood and bleeding through my clothes.
10:43And I was so ashamed that I didn't want to alarm anybody, right?
10:48Because there's so much stigma around it.
10:50Asking the waiter for napkins, slowly stuffing them up to like limp to the bathroom and, you know,
10:59try to take care of myself in solitude.
11:01And so, I guess I like to share that story because I always want to encourage women to like be
11:06open to sharing
11:07and like release the stigma around your period.
11:10But because I moved in shame for so long, I ended up getting two blood transfusions to save my life
11:17because I just thought, oh, I have an extra heavy period.
11:21Nothing's wrong with me.
11:22But there was a lot that was wrong.
11:24So, yeah.
11:25Thank you for sharing that.
11:28Has anyone else felt shame regarding their period?
11:31Has anyone else felt that themselves in this room?
11:34I want to just hold space for that.
11:36And I want to share a piece.
11:38My mother told me when I started my period, my mom passed away, the best mother I could have had.
11:42But I could have had better period education.
11:45She told me, no one should know when you're on your period.
11:50And I just remember being like, what?
11:53Like, what does that mean?
11:54And I think many of us carry the guidance from prior generations that your period is your personal responsibility.
12:02And if you can't handle that period, maybe that looks like or speaks to a failure on your part.
12:09And I want to release us all from that.
12:12That it's okay to talk about your period.
12:15That sharing that period story was a good thing.
12:17And a problem shared is a problem halved.
12:20Right?
12:20Right?
12:21But also that shame keeps us stuck.
12:24Right?
12:25It makes it so that we're getting blood transfusions.
12:28Instead of maybe taking some iron supplements.
12:30Or things that would have been earlier and more appropriate.
12:33So anyway, I want to hold space for that.
12:34But that shame didn't come from nowhere.
12:36Right?
12:37It has come from generational kind of lessons that we have to break free from.
12:41And so thank you for sharing.
12:42Yeah.
12:43And release is such a beautiful word.
12:46And I'm so happy for you.
12:48And it touches me as well.
12:50And you touched on a really important factor, which is anemia.
12:55I didn't understand anemia.
12:57We're not medical professionals.
12:59And most women and menstruators do not know what anemia is broadly, the definition, and for themselves personally.
13:08And anemia is when your hemoglobin level, which is your blood count, it's normally in the 12 to 13 range.
13:16There are some women, mine got as low as 5.6.
13:205?
13:215?
13:22Yeah.
13:22Is that the lowest?
13:23Yeah.
13:24And some women are walking around.
13:26It's unbelievable what our bodies carry.
13:29And it can be very dangerous, life-threatening.
13:34And I was at a doctor's office.
13:36And he said, did you drive to the appointment?
13:39And I thought, why is he asking me that question?
13:43And he said, I'm afraid that you might pass out behind the wheel driving home.
13:48And that was the first time that I understood what anemia really, really meant for me personally and how it
13:58could impact my day-to-day existence.
14:01And I've met women in spaces where they're like, oh, I have to be careful bending down and standing up.
14:08But if you have, usually for me, it was like when my hemoglobin got between 9 and 10, that's when
14:16I was waking up in the morning and slowly getting out of bed.
14:19When we start making those types of adjustments or feel lightheaded or see stars, that's one of the first things
14:26I ask our community members is, what's your hemoglobin level?
14:31Do you know what it is?
14:33Because it can be an emergency issue.
14:36And there's so many people I've told, go to the emergency room right now.
14:39And I'll say this.
14:40I know I'm talking a lot, but it's important.
14:42When you get to the emergency room, Dr. Gillespie-Bell, let me know if I'm right on this.
14:49But I usually say, try to work with your emergency room physician to get a blood count and not have
14:58to endure a pelvic exam while you're hemorrhaging.
15:01Is that?
15:02Yes.
15:04Yes, absolutely.
15:05If you already have the signs, you have the symptoms, even if your hemoglobin is a little bit higher, you
15:13need a blood transfusion.
15:14A pelvic exam is not going to tell us anything.
15:17And so you don't have to have that.
15:19But definitely that blood transfusion.
15:23And another thing is the physicians in the emergency room don't do pelvic exams that much.
15:30And so you would be in agony and hemorrhaging.
15:33So if you've experienced that, just hopefully this is freeing you from having a terrible experience if, heaven forbid, you
15:43have to be transfused.
15:46Thank you for sharing that.
15:48We have another story.
15:51I just wanted to thank you all so much.
15:53I was at the panel earlier, and it was just so insightful and interesting.
15:56And, again, being able to see across the board from a brand side, from a retailer side, from an educational
16:02side, what advancements are happening in the work that you're all doing.
16:05So thank you for that.
16:07One piece that you touched on that I really think is also important, especially as someone who might be a
16:11little bit younger in the room, is the intergenerational conversations needing to happen more.
16:16I'm blessed that my mom is a nurse.
16:18So we had a lot of conversations, I think, early on.
16:21But now that I'm getting older, my late 20s, almost 30s, there's not a lot of conversations about, like, the
16:26next phase and preparing for that.
16:28So it's like, you know, hearing about menopause or postpartum, what does that look like?
16:33Like, even though right now in this phase of my life, I might, you know, only be experiencing my menstrual
16:37cycle, knowing more about what's to be expected or how I can, you know, improve my health to make sure
16:43that that's a smoother transition, I wish more of those conversations were happening.
16:46So it's good to see a range of people in the room from different ages and, you know, stages, because
16:51I think, again, like you spoke about, the only way we're going to understand and grow as a community is
16:56if we have conversations openly and can hear someone else's perspective to learn from, you know, to bring into your
17:02own.
17:03So just wanted to say I really think that piece is important, and I hope that, like, women, tell your
17:07daughters, you know, daughters, talk to your moms, ask them about their experiences, and then even just asking questions so
17:14you know your own health history in order to make sure that you're informed and taking care of yourself.
17:19Yes.
17:19Oh, that's so good.
17:21Thank you for sharing that.
17:24The, yeah, I'll just kind of lean into that.
17:27So I mentioned this on stage, and I don't know that people always understand what that means.
17:31I'm a board-certified OB-GYN, but I specialize in pediatric and adolescent gynecology.
17:36And folks say, well, what you doing there, right?
17:38But the reality is many of the people who have endometriosis and PCOS and heavy menstrual bleeding had it earlier
17:44on than when it was deemed as appropriate or worthy of treatment or worthy of discussion.
17:50And so we need to be talking with younger generations about our family history, right?
17:56We shouldn't be finding out when we're 35 about to go into the operating room that everybody in the family
18:00got fibroids.
18:01Like, why didn't you tell me, right?
18:03We don't need to be finding out about our fertility struggles, you know, when we are much later in life.
18:09That conversation needs to be something that we are pushing all the time.
18:13And so I think that always in CVS, bringing this to essence is a beautiful example about where these conversations
18:21belong.
18:22Yes, we're having a good time.
18:24Yes, we got some freebies.
18:25We're going to be at the concert on tonight, okay?
18:28But we can still talk about the very real lived experiences to make it better for the people in the
18:34room.
18:34And so all of us, the fullness of us, it is all worthy and it all belongs.
18:41That's such a good question.
18:43And Dr. Sharris, is there any advice on when parents should start with, you know, yeah.
18:51Yeah, so people always ask me this, and of course in this space, a lot of folks, especially in our
18:55community,
18:56think that if we don't talk about it, we are preserving the childhood of our daughters, right?
19:00And then we grieve when our daughters start to bleed as if they are no longer girls.
19:04Hear me this.
19:05Yes, just because your daughter starts to bleed does not mean that she is suddenly a woman overnight.
19:10She is in more need of your love and care and mercy and guidance than she ever was before.
19:15For that very reason, it is important that we talk about these things early and often.
19:20We are not waiting for the first drop of blood to start dropping seeds of truth, right?
19:25You can plant those as young as potty training years.
19:27Whether you realize it or not, you're having conversations about how to manage your body when you're teaching your two
19:33-year-old how to wipe.
19:35So when we remove the hypersexualization, the adultification, the politicalization, and all of those things that weigh us down as
19:42adult women,
19:43we can let our children be the children they should be.
19:45And we can give them honest and true and compassionate advice so that they can manage their body appropriately and
19:52let them know that whatever happens, they can come to us.
19:56It is being that advocate, that consistent advocate for your child where it's not just one talk, it is multiple
20:03talks, and those talks never end.
20:05And your question just has so many layers that are important to address.
20:12One is being the child of a mother who was almost 40 when she had me, her period journey was
20:21very different from mine.
20:22The products were very different.
20:25And so some moms and parents may be more educated on period products than others, but mine was not particularly.
20:34And so, you know, she brought me a belt, and I was like, well, what am I supposed to do
20:39with this?
20:40And I think I used it one time because I was like, there are some other products available.
20:48So that is important to really recognize that since there are generational gaps, that what's typical for one family member
20:57may not be well-informed, even though they care about you.
21:01And I also want to touch on the menopause piece because for years I was told, oh, when you get
21:08the menopause, you don't have to worry about the fibroids.
21:11And I always say that fibroid pain and cramping is just a tiny bit worse than some menopause symptoms can
21:20be.
21:20So, and hormones need to be managed and monitored even through menopause.
21:29So at the Fibroid Foundation, we like to support our community from the first period through and beyond menopause because
21:37their needs are over the whole life continuum.
21:41And it's really important to get comfortable having those conversations cross-generationally.
21:49Hi, everyone.
21:50My name is Kayla.
21:52First and foremost, I just want to say thank you guys for occupying this space, you know, with your advocacy
21:58because, as we always talk about, we never had that support.
22:03Like, we never really know how bad things are and we don't get the opportunity to have our voices heard.
22:08I have two quick stories.
22:10I'm going to try to be quick.
22:11But I've always been kind of like a period petri dish.
22:15Like, I've had all the things and it's like, it's always just been a lot going on.
22:19So my first story, I want to first offer advice to not rule out the impact of your period on
22:27other parts of your body.
22:28And I say that because a couple years ago, I started to have what felt like really bad gas in
22:34my chest.
22:34And it just would come every month and I didn't really start to notice the patterns until about maybe the
22:39third or fourth month.
22:41And I'm like, what's going on?
22:42And then I noticed it will always be around my cycle about a week or so before.
22:47So I would bring it up to doctors.
22:49They're just like, oh, you know, just it's probably stress.
22:52You know, stress is their favorite word.
22:53And it's like, it's not that.
22:54It's kind of weird.
22:55Like, I don't know what it is.
22:56It's like it would travel up and down my chest.
22:59So, again, just mentioning it multiple times and I started to have, I went to several appointments and I started
23:06to do more research.
23:07Turns out it's a version of endometriosis called catamenial pneumothorax.
23:13So essentially every month my lungs are collapsing and that's what I'm feeling.
23:18So I had to go to the doctor and I told my doctor, she's black, you know, all my providers
23:22are black.
23:23And I would, this may sound crazy, but be open to it.
23:26Sometimes you have to teach her doctors because it's such a rare situation that she didn't know anything about it.
23:31There's only a handful of people, it seems like, that really have been treated for it.
23:36I'm still, like, we're still trying to figure out all the screening and how to fix it.
23:39But she sat there and she did the research right then and there.
23:43But I had to go and I had to keep mentioning it.
23:46I went to other doctors, like I had a cardiologist, and they just didn't bother with it for a long
23:50time.
23:50But she actually sat down and researched it.
23:53So, like I said, I just want to encourage you guys to consider other parts of your body because it
23:58all works together.
23:59It's not just your uterus.
24:01And then on the second story, I had an assist.
24:05So this was when I was in college and I naturally get really bad cycles.
24:10But during this certain stretch of months, it was like back to back.
24:13I went to the ER three months in a row.
24:15And the ER was right outside of my college and it was like a white ER doctor.
24:19And he's just like, oh, you know, you do have a cyst, but you've had it your whole life, which
24:23I did.
24:23It's called a teratoma.
24:24And he's like, you had it all your life.
24:26You'll be fine.
24:26Like, just take, I'll just up your ibuprofen or whatever it is.
24:29And I'm like, it's not that.
24:30So then I go to my OBGYN back home.
24:33And she's like, no, you have a cyst, like it's twice the size of your ovaries.
24:37You need emergency surgery.
24:38And luckily it was in November.
24:40So school break was coming out in December and I was able to do that.
24:45But again, thank you for your advocacy and just pushing because we never know.
24:49Like you said with anemia, you know how, you never know how much it impacts our lives and how much
24:55it can change.
24:55And it's like, we get dismissed about it.
24:57Like periods aren't just paper cuts.
24:58And it seems like everyone outside of us thinks so.
25:01And it's like, we're being dramatic, but we're not.
25:03So just letting you guys know, it's a very wild world out there beyond the regulars.
25:08Okay, love.
25:09Thank you so much for sharing that.
25:11Let's clap it up.
25:13Anybody else in the room have any experience with endometriosis?
25:16Just by a show of hands.
25:18Yeah.
25:19Yeah, really quickly, I just want to just define endometriosis.
25:22So endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition that's estrogen dependent and it is systemic.
25:26We used to think it was gynecological in nature and we used to call it that.
25:30And many people, patient advocates with endometriosis said, y'all have it wrong because of Kayla's story,
25:37because of knowing how it could affect the lungs, even be in the brain.
25:40As gynecologists, if we are only looking in your pelvis, we are not looking in the right spot.
25:45And so I want to hold space for that as a gynecologist who hears patient stories that we don't always
25:50get it right.
25:51And it is your persistence that shouldn't be necessary.
25:54But that is, and a lot of times, with a doctor who looks like you, who values you,
25:59but it's just something really aware that can mean the difference.
26:03And so you are not being dramatic.
26:05Let's stop telling our daughters that they are being dramatic.
26:08Let's stop telling our friends they are being dramatic.
26:11Let's hold space for women being heard the first time.
26:15Thank you for sharing your stories.
26:18There are so many young people who have horrific cramps.
26:22And I know when I was in grade school and high school, my teachers, some of them didn't believe me.
26:28But now that I work in this space, the physicians that we work with have shared that it's normal sometimes.
26:35I won't say normal, but it's common.
26:38Thank you for young women who have just started their periods to have horrific cramping.
26:45And so we can't dismiss the younger generation.
26:49It is so incredibly important.
26:52And your comment on teaching your doctors, when I had my third surgery, which was an open myomectomy,
26:59it was a journey for me and my doctor.
27:02He was very skilled, but he had never had a patient that really wanted to talk with him to collaborate,
27:09to exercise shared decision-making to find a solution.
27:14He's now on our medical advisory board.
27:16But there were so many things that I, as a patient, could help inform the journey from what the medicine
27:24did to my body,
27:25what medicines were prescribed after the first medicine, to manage that medicine, to manage that medicine,
27:31to manage that one, so that by the time I came out of surgery, I was on seven medications.
27:37And it just kind of snowballed.
27:40And I was in the hospital, and I asked the nurse, I said, I haven't seen him today to round.
27:49And she said, he's coming to see you last, because he knows you'll have a lot of questions.
27:55And that made me laugh.
27:57I thought that was funny.
27:58But we still stay in touch.
28:01And now he does volunteer fibroid surgeries around the world,
28:05because he said he realized that even though he knew how to do the surgery,
28:11he didn't fully understand the patient journey.
28:14So it's been eye-opening, to say the least.
28:20So teach your doctors.
28:22Okay.
28:23Hi, ladies.
28:24So I just want to chime in and say that I'm over here now.
28:29I've been moving all over the place.
28:31I'm here.
28:32This conversation is so incredible and so important.
28:35We have about five minutes left, so I wanted to share that.
28:40I know we have another question, but probably after that we'll have to bring the circle to a close.
28:44But I wanted to just share that.
28:47So I'll keep it brief.
28:48I just wanted to, again, reflect on the importance of this space.
28:52I'm a doctor myself.
28:54But then going through the journey and the amount that I had to advocate for myself,
28:58sometimes you feel like...
29:00Can you speak louder?
29:02Okay.
29:02Can you hear me better now?
29:03Yes.
29:04Okay.
29:04All right.
29:05So I just wanted to say thank you so much for this space.
29:08It is so important.
29:10I'm a doctor myself, but I know the hurdles that I had to jump through before I could get a
29:16myomectomy.
29:17I think initially even being encouraged to just kind of live with the symptoms.
29:23Going up against health care, the insurance system, right?
29:27Because they're, to some degree, depending on what your plan is, incentivized not to operate, right?
29:34And so that comes in the form of playing down, you know, what your options are or being limited in
29:42what they're presenting.
29:44Even in terms of what kind of surgery you can have.
29:47So I just said this to encourage people along their journey.
29:49I know what I had to go through in terms of being able to get the care that I needed.
29:54And you almost feel like, oh, well, I'm a doctor.
29:56I should know.
29:58But just as I think it was Jayla brought up, there are limitations to what your doctor knows, right?
30:05So open, choosing a physician who is open, choosing someone who recognizes the limitations of their knowledge but are open
30:13to pointing you in the right direction.
30:15And just to encourage anybody who feels like they're not heard or feels like, man, I'm really having to talk
30:21to a number of people before I get what I need.
30:24You are not alone because I found myself in the same position.
30:33Thank you all so much.
30:35Thank you for everyone who shared their story.
30:38Thank you all for joining us, for just sitting and thinking.
30:42I feel more inspired.
30:45Thank you guys for sharing your knowledge.
30:47And I feel a little bit more liberated and free just to know that there is no shame in talking
30:54about our body and something that is so natural.
30:57So I really appreciate that.
31:00Thank you all for being here.
31:02And Erica, do you want to close us out?
31:04I will.
31:05Thank you again for joining us in the talking circle and for just sharing what was on your heart.
31:11For some of you that maybe weren't here when we started, we love to close our circles with a clearing.
31:17It's important, especially when we start.
31:21Go for it.
31:22Let's go.
31:22That's exactly right.
31:23Just to move the energy that we just all poured in together.
31:29And also remembering what was said here stays here unless it helps someone in your life.
31:35So let's move it really fast.
31:36I'm going to count to three.
31:37And when I get to three, we're all going to clap one time.
31:41One, two, three.
31:55One, two, three.
32:02Let's go.
32:03I'm going to clap one time.
32:06We're all going to clap.
32:07I'm just going to clap.
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