Diagnosed, Dismissed, and Determined: How Premature Menopause Became My Mission by Marissa Fontanez, DNP, FAIHM, MSCP In the United States, the first COVID case emerged in Washington state, where I worked as a primary care/urgent care doctor. It was a time of intersecting crises – the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and devastating forest…
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Javi Osei, 39, has been “officially” diagnosed as being in premature menopause. It took a lot of time, stress — and countless medical interventions for her to accept that she is in a new phase of her life. “I made the decision to just hunker down, do my own research. and take it step by step…
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Jade, 36, has been in menopause for over a year. A series of surgeries have left her without the children she had hoped to birth — and a resolute focus to bring her emotional, mental, and physical self, back from trauma she was not prepared for. Her story unfolds … Was this an unexpected surgery that…
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Asia Kaleem, now 42, is a vivacious, gregarious mother of 3 — thrust into early menopause eleven years ago. Now, she’s happy to be in a stage where she can “Do whatever the hell she wants to do” — left her home town, moved to NYC to reinvent, and learned to “lean into the sweats.”…
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Salimah Abdul, now 37, endured several traumatic surgeries by age 32 — removing cysts, fibroids, endometriosis. With each year, the complications — psychological and physical — became devastating, leaving her bedridden for days. At 35, a full hysterectomy was needed, ending her dreams of childbirth. Two years later, Salimah focuses on prayer, family and positive…
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