Michele Jansz:
CLASS OF 1984
Jackson High SchoolClass of 1984
Portland, OR
Michele's Story
I'm going to reel this off. Edits to follow? Prev. Michele/Michelle Brown in yearbook due to misspelling. I didn't graduate from Jackson. My stay was brief, but went to college at 18 and received an Associate Degree with honors - President's List, Dean's List, Phi Theta Kappa. Later, I attended PSU where I Double Majored in Psychology, Sociology with a minor in Mathematics. I have an illness which affects 1 in 10 women. While at both Markham and Jackson I was very ill. I had undiagnosed Stage IV Endometriosis. It led to extreme pain, absences, affected my grades, and eventually, I dropped out completely. It was horrible.
I wasn't diagnosed until my early 20's & like most w. the disease, felt very misunderstood. It destroyed my HS potential. The local Community College accepted me in at...Expand for more
16, I challenged HS all together, but had to re enter at 18 because I was just too ill. I have undergone 9 or 10 surgeries but found a very good surgeon in 1998. Today I study endometriosis as well as volunteer online in Endo ED. It's a MEDICAL illness which is genetic. We're going to have to educate parents and young women about this common, but horribly misunderstood disease. See: Endo What? and Below The Belt documentary films. Facts: 200 million women have endo worldwide. If it were a country, it would be the 7th largest in the world. Women see an avg of 7 to 10 doctors before a definitive dx. Is'nt that outrageous? Famous women with Endometriosis include Susan Sarandon, Whoppie Goldberg, Lena Dunham, Dolly Parton..&.Marilyn Monroe..
Wishing all of you the very best,
Michele
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