I didnt share this, but it’s important. On June 3rd, 2023 I was diagnosed with a DVT which is a bloodclot in my subclavian vein at age 33. The ER doctor took it seriously and referred me to a specialist in Billings.

I waited weeks, took time off work, drove hours and was laughed at by the male specialist.

He asked me, “What’s your poison?”

He dismissed every possible cause I mentioned.

And when I asked if anything could be done besides blood thinners, he told me: “If you were a young, healthy male professional baseball player, we’d help you. But for you, there’s nothing to do.”

My arm was still swollen and painful. The appointment lasted maybe five minutes. I left feeling humiliated and completely unseen as a woman.

The worst part is that my experience reflects what studies show happens to women everywhere:

📊 Women’s pain is more often dismissed as emotional or stress-related.

📊 Women wait years longer than men for autoimmune diagnoses.

📊 Women wait longer for ER pain treatment and are discharged more often without relief.

📊 Women reporting heart symptoms get fewer tests even though heart disease is our #1 killer.

📊 Women’s physical symptoms are more often mislabeled as anxiety.

This isn’t rare.

It’s a pattern and women deserve better.

If you’ve lived through medical dismissal or denial, you’re not alone.

I’m fighting for change through the Her Health Matters Movement, because our stories matter and our healthcare needs deserve respect.