The Paid Leave Podcast

Endometriosis is a Painful Chronic Disease That is Difficult to Diagnose.

• The Connecticut Paid Leave Authority • Season 3 • Episode 10

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Endometriosis is a painful chronic disease that affects over 160 million women worldwide, 10 million across the United States and in Connecticut 1 in 10 women have it. The only way to get an accurate diagnosis is with surgery and that can cost somewhere between 20 and 30 thousand dollars or more. The cost of the surgery can be a huge barrier to get treatment for this debilitating condition.

Connecticut is leading the way in research and is the first in the nation to get a law passed, House Bill 6672, "An Act Concerning Endometriosis".  In June, the General Assembly passed the legislation creating a first-of-its-kind endometriosis data and biorepository program to bring greater awareness, action and care options to those suffering from endometriosis. The person behind the law is State Representative Jillian Gilchrest who decided something had to be done for the women in the state suffering from this disease. She talks about the Working Group she created to help women with the challenges of living and working with the disease, the importance of having better care from medical professionals, and the need for continued research.

 Kailey Mitchell is an advocate, and a support group founder and she talks about her own battle with endometriosis and the challenges she faced in her life and with working. She talks about the troubles with diagnosis, the mental health component of the disease and why she formed her own support group in Connecticut.

Finding time to see your healthcare provider or the maintenance of your condition are some of the many challenges of living with a chronic disease. CT Paid Leave can help with income replacement for this serious health condition. You can get up to twelve weeks of income replacement so you can focus on your health.


For more information or to apply for benefits go to : CT Paid Leave

For Endometriosis support groups go to: (20+) CT Endometriosis Support Group | Facebook

For more information on the Endometriosis Working Group:  Endometriosis Working Group | Connecticut House Democrats

Endometriosis Reasearch: Endometriosis Research at JAX

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Nancy Barrow:

Hello Connecticut, and welcome to The Paid Leave Podcast. The title basically says it all. I'm Nancy Barrow, and I will be delving into this new state program and how it can help you and your family. This podcast will give you information you should know about Connecticut Paid Leave and maybe just a little bit more. Connecticut Paid Leave brings peace of mind to your home, family and workplace. Welcome to The Paid Leave Podcast. This podcast is about endometriosis, how to live with it, how to treat it, and how to get laws passed in Connecticut to continue to do research. In our state, over 160 million women are affected worldwide. In the United States, 10 million and in Connecticut, one in 10 women has endometriosis, with surgeries costing somewhere between 20 and 30,000 maybe even more. It can be a huge barrier to get treated. That's where Connecticut paid leave can come in. Endometriosis is a chronic condition with no cure. And Connecticut Paid Leave can help with up to 12 weeks of income replacement to take care of your own serious health condition or that of a loved one as a caregiver. And it can be taken in a block or intermittently or at a reduced schedule from work. You must have incapacitation and continued care with a health care professional, and we also cover mental health, as long as your health care provider deems it a serious health condition. I have some great guests, Representative Jillian Gilchrist, who was elected to represent the 18th district in West Hartford. She serves as the House Chair of the Human Services Committee and member of the appropriations public health and Judiciary Committees. She's co chair of the reproductive rights caucus. Jillian chairs maypock, the medical assistance program oversight committee, the Trafficking in Persons Council and the endometriosis working group. And last but not least, Gillian is a huge advocate for Connecticut paid leave, and helped to get paid leave passed into law. Welcome to the podcast, Jillian. You are busy. Thank you so much for having me. And we have Kaylee Mitchell. She is an endometriosis advocate, a support group founder, and part of the endometriosis working group with Jillian. Kaylee is also a patient with personal experience having endometriosis, and welcome to the podcast. Kaylee, yeah. Thank you for having me so Kaylee, let's start with you, Jillian, and you can jump in as well. Can you tell me what endometriosis is?

Kaylee Mitchell:

Sure, so endometriosis is a chronic disease characterized by abnormal lesions, cyst or nodules on organs and structures throughout the body. These abnormal they're inflammatory, growth, they can cause pain, adhesions, fibrosis, scar tissue and organ dysfunction. It can range from being superficial to deeply infiltrating. It can typically be found anywhere in the body, and they're superficial, and then there's deeply infiltrating. So usually on the colon, it's typically deeply infiltrating. It can be in the pelvic region, the diaphragm, the colon, the bladder and the list goes on.

Nancy Barrow:

Wow, tell me about your personal experience with endometriosis, like your timeline. It took you a long time to get a diagnosis.

Kaylee Mitchell:

It did. So I started having symptoms when I was around 21 I did not receive a diagnosis until I was 26 so it took me six years, and the average time to get diagnosed is between six to 10 years. Why so long? That's a very good question. So in my experience, I was diagnosed with IBS because my symptoms presented primarily as GI issues, starting out, and I think my healthcare providers couldn't piece together. You know, my period symptoms from my GI symptoms. In the big picture, it was all related. Once I started doing my own research and talking to others, like in the support group and online, I figured it out, yeah.

Nancy Barrow:

But like, how do you find out you have to have surgery to find out if you have endometriosis, which is mind blowing to me.

Kaylee Mitchell:

Yeah, so I had a laparoscopy in 2016 they found endometriosis. Went to pathology, it was confirmed, and that's how I was diagnosed.

Nancy Barrow:

Who finally figured it out for you?

Kaylee Mitchell:

Yeah, during that span, I probably have seen 20 different healthcare providers. Wow, at least Yeah. And the first time I heard the word endometriosis actually came from a gastroenterologist. He said, Have you heard of endometriosis? And I said, Endo? What? Like? No idea. So he said, you might want to see your OB GYN, and that's where I started. I went to my OB GYN based on my symptoms. She actually doubted that I did have endometriosis. Diagnosis, but agreed, since I was so desperate, agreed to do the surgery. And in fact, I did have it, and that was my first step on on my journey. How many surgeries have you had? I have had for endometriosis. I've had three.

Nancy Barrow:

How can you treat endometriosis once you get a diagnosis.

Kaylee Mitchell:

So the gold standard of treatment is excision. It's done laparoscopically. There's a lot of barriers to get proper treatment. You know, the first line of treatment typically for in my case, you know, we tried various birth controls. I want to say I was on over the years, probably eight different types of birth control to try to figure it out. And then we moved on to Lupron and or Alyssa, which are they're also medications that people think can treat the disease, but in my case, they just masked my symptoms. My disease still progressed, and I at the end of the day, I was back to where I started after all these treatments.

Nancy Barrow:

Wow. So living with endometriosis from a scale of one to 10, is your pain? Where on that scale, or does it differ every day?

Kaylee Mitchell:

100 !!! Wow, Seriously? Like, yeah. I mean, there came a point in my life where I started having symptoms. When I was 21 I was still trying to finish school at that time, and I did not graduate from college. For that reason, I had to drop out. I started working. And even that was was very, very difficult. I was very fortunate to have a boss who was understanding. I would miss at least a week of work a month, and then it progressed to two weeks a month, and then that's when I made the decision to leave my position, because I couldn't deal with like I felt like guilty and shameful, you know what I mean, for missing work that I was supposed to be doing. So I left my job and I created my own job. I pretty much started working from home.

Nancy Barrow:

What kind of job are you doing from home?

Kaylee Mitchell:

So I make hula hoops. I started as a fitness instructor, and that that was very difficult as well, but I did it when I could. And then I started making and selling hula hoops on Etsy. And then I started teaching hula hoops as well when I could. So I kind of I was able to create a schedule that worked for me, where I if I had pain, I wouldn't schedule classes, then, yeah, I would focus on creating a product that I could sell online.

Nancy Barrow:

That's fabulous. That's amazing. So did were there support groups back then that would help you, or were there resources that you could reach out to?

Kaylee Mitchell:

The first resource I found was a group on Facebook called Nancy's nook, and it's still in existence. It's one of the more well known support groups. And meanwhile, this is when I was 26 so this was 2016 that was one of the only ones that I found.

Nancy Barrow:

Wow. And do you find that when you talk to other patients that that they have difficulty staying at work because of this disease.

Kaylee Mitchell:

Yes, it's a huge barrier to working, to making a living. You know, you mentioned mental health before that comes into play. Yeah. Did you see a therapist? I just started seeing a therapist. When was it? Last yea.

Nancy Barrow:

I would think that it would be hard for having a diagnosis like this, and when you find out there's really no cure for it, you can do things to help alleviate the pain, but it never really leaves right, right?

Kaylee Mitchell:

Right, Right.And I'm a strong proponent of see, of seeking out a therapist that you know can work with you and understands what you're going through.

Nancy Barrow:

Because I would imagine it would also affect relationships.

Kaylee Mitchell:

It does. I was lucky. I've been a relationship for about 13 years now, and he's very supportive. But it came to a point when, you know, every day, I was like, Oh, I'm in pain, I'm in pain, I'm in pain. And then I just stopped saying it, and I kind of shut down, internalized everything, and that's where I ended up, yep.

Nancy Barrow:

So how did you get involved with Jillian and the endometriosis working group?

Kaylee Mitchell:

I believe I was just searching online one day, and I came across it, and I was like, This is amazing. I reached out, and I joined the group.

Nancy Barrow:

And Jillian, what were your reasons for focusing on endometriosis? Is there a personal connection for you?

Jillian Gilchrest:

So I had a colleague reach out, who does work in the homelessness space here in Connecticut, and she said, based on the issues you work on, I think you'd want to know about this disease, endometriosis. And we met for coffee, and she explained her story, which I have now unfortunately realized, is the story of many women, of being made to feel crazy most of her life, and told what she was experiencing as normal, even though it wasn't. She was told at certain points she was making it up that it was in her. Head. She lost a relationship over it, she experienced infertility, and I left that coffee meeting and went home and started Googling and was horrified. And because of my background, and I'm a feminist, I I was just drawn to the issue because, to me, it is just a legacy of us not researching diseases that impact women, of not believing women when they share the experience they're having, and to see what a major impact it's having on people's lives, I knew I had to do something, and so formed the endometriosis Working Group

Nancy Barrow:

And take me through that timeline of the working group through today, what was your end goal when you started the working group?

Jillian Gilchrest:

Ironically, I thought we'd meet for a year, and then once I started meeting with folks and unpacking the disease that is endometriosis and how it impacts folks lives and how much work there is to do. I mean, from, you know what, what Kaylee was just sharing again about missing work, you know, there's a whole angle, or the fact that there still is no cure, or the fact that the diagnosis, if you want the official diagnosis, you have to get surgery, insurance coverage, the mental health piece, you know, there the education, because medical providers are not educated on this on a whole and young people, you know, and individuals are not educated. So once you know, we unpacked. Wow. How big of an issue. It is decided that the working group would be ongoing, and it's taken me in directions. I never thought we've actually gotten national recognition. Other states are looking to do the same thing so that they can elevate the issue of endometriosis. And now, actually very good news. I think it was just a week or so ago, the White House announced that Dr Jill Biden will be pushing for more research dollars for women's health, and they cited endometriosis, which I think is a huge win, because really wasn't discussed too much. And so we're getting there, but there's just still a lot of work to be done. A big piece of the working group is having the voices like Kaylee's, and so I would turn that back and say, Look what they've done. Yeah, it's true. The role I get to be in is like, alright, teach me, and then I'll use my platform to try and push change.

Nancy Barrow:

Well, that's cool. Was that your strategy? Because you seemed really kind of methodical about getting this working group together. It was like, and right from the beginning, because I watched, like, your first meeting, and there was a lot of people in that meeting.

Jillian Gilchrest:

Yeah, my background, so I am a social worker by training, always in policy. And before coming to the legislature, I was an advocate. And so I know how to build a coalition and do advocacy work. And so that's what I try to bring to this role. It's like, okay, I do know what it takes to get attention on an issue. So for this one in particular, it's been tremendous to see the various women who've come to the table to share their experiences, some of my colleagues, 50s, in their 60s, those women are saying like, thank you. We never were able to talk about this and and people share like their grandmother, their mother. You know, it's been something that has gone on in families for so long, and there was never an opportunity to talk about it.

Nancy Barrow:

Tell me about House Bill, 6672 it's an act concerning endometriosis. What does it do for women in Connecticut?

Jillian Gilchrest:

So what's fantastic about this legislation is and we had the we got the funding behind it. We created a bio repository. We are the first state to do this, and so UConn health has partnered with Jackson Laboratory here in the state, and they will be doing a few things, but they will be collecting tissue samples from individuals who have endometriosis. And we want this. We want tissue samples from a diversity of folks with endometriosis, because in you know, Women's Health is often ignored, but then when we look at that, Black Women's Health is even ignored more. And so we want to ensure that as we're moving forward with this work, we're addressing the needs of all individuals who experience endometriosis additionally. And so the goal is, once they have these samples, they're going to be able to do studies to develop treatments and to develop diagnostic tools. And furthermore, they are going to be doing education amongst medical providers here in the state and ideally across the country, so that endometriosis does become something that's more known with healthcare providers, so that what Kaylee explained, doesn't have to keep happening. You don't have to go to a number of medical providers before one says, Hey, have you ever heard of endometriosis?

Nancy Barrow:

Yeah, it's really interesting. Is there a network of doctors that specialize in. In endometriosis, or is that what you're working on? Push to get physicians more training to recognize symptoms five to 10 years is horrific.

Jillian Gilchrest:

There is a network, and in other countries, like Australia, is often cited. It is more, you know, discussed and known. We do have specialists here in the country, but not enough, really. It is these, these specialists, and so the everyday OB, GYN, or to Kaylee's point, you know, a lot of folks with endometriosis will show up because of gastro issues. Well, they should be trained on it so that they know. What shocks me is 50% of infertility can be attributed to endometriosis, wow, other provider type. So I've heard tons of stories of women going through multiple infertility treatments, only be told, like, after three or four treatments. Oh, you have endometriosis. Well, maybe that should have been found out first. So, you know, it's, how do we get this disease on the radar of all healthcare providers?

Nancy Barrow:

And that's interesting, because I was talking to Kaylee earlier, like, you know, with cervical cancer, there's the Pap smear. Is there research being done that there can be a less invasive way to find out you have endometriosis and not have to have surgery?

Jillian Gilchrest:

That work is being done right now. There's a and I'm sure they're not the only one there. There's folks who come to me, they're trying to do a blood test that would be able, but that, again, links to, there hasn't been enough federal dollars for research. There's also this thinking like, unfortunately, in a capitalist society, you know, in the end, will it make money if they develop, you know, if there's still no treatment, why would someone, okay, great, you have the diagnosis, but there isn't the treatment, so it's kind of like the chicken and the egg, yeah, right, both at the same time. And then also insurance, you know, will insurance cover? So those are those pieces where I'm saying we have so much work to do, because you have to be working on all these different pieces to keep moving the needle.

Nancy Barrow:

What about black and brown, or the LGBTQ plus communities?

Jillian Gilchrest:

With black and brown women, there's quite a bit of research on the fact that black women's pain is ignored even more than what Kaylee has described like white women's pain that they're often there's many medical providers who think black women have a higher tolerance of Pain, and so they will just be discarded, or they have internalized and learned not to express what they're experiencing. We also see in that lack of insurance coverage. Piece, you know, you mentioned at the start, 20 to $30,000 or more for, you know, a surgery, there's a lot of black and brown women who are unable to get the surgery they need. And then with the LGBTQ community, we're really trying to be purposeful in the language we use, and that's why you'll hear me say individuals experiencing endometriosis, because anyone with a uterus can experience it. And we've actually also been discussing as a working group that there has been endometriosis found in men, again, such an unknown disease still, that they're trying to figure out why that that's so. But we had a great presentation on those in the LGBTQ community trying to access OBGYN healthcare in general. Yeah. And we learned, you know, there's lots of barriers if you don't identify as a woman, but you have female parts that can be a very uncomfortable appointment. And so trying to figure out how we work with healthcare providers to make it more of a safe space for folks.

Nancy Barrow:

The health disparities are really endless, but let's hope that that closes a little bit. Can you tell me about family history? Do your chances go up getting endometriosis if your mom has it or your your sister?

Jillian Gilchrest:

So interesting again, the lack of research doesn't directly say that there is a genetic connection, but in the conversations we have, and there is some research being done, it does appear that it is genetic, and when folks are sharing their experiences often, again, at this point in our history, it seems like, oh yeah, my mom went through those same things, or my or or someone like Kaylee. I'm sorry I keep using but you're here like Kaylee. It's okay their mom, like, Kaylee's mom might say, like, oh, you know your grandmother, like, you know, was unable to get off the couch for a week. Like, it then, like, kind of comes out. Like, this was this thing that was being experienced, but they were never diagnosed, and there was no word for it. So we do believe there is a genetic connection.

Nancy Barrow:

You know, my sister in law had it, and she had to have a full hysterectomy. And I thought, when you have that, it gets rid of it. But Kaylee, you told me that's not the case.

Kaylee Mitchell:

Yeah, that's one of the larger myths surrounding the disease, that if you do get a hysterectomy, it will, I don't want to say cure, but yes, it will cure the disease. That's not true. There is a related disease. Called adenomyosis, which, if you do have that a hysterectomy is a cure, but for endometriosis, it is not.

Nancy Barrow:

It is not, and so there's nothing you can do to get rid of it. So even if you had a full hysterectomy, you could still have the symptoms of endometriosis.

Kaylee Mitchell:

Yeah, I mean, you know, it can be found in various parts of the body, bowel, bladder, diaphragm, lungs, nerves. So if you think about it, just taking the uterus and ovaries out, it's not on your bowel, your bladder, it's it's not going to help you.

Nancy Barrow:

It's frightening how invasive it can be. More research, I guess you get on to Jackson labs. How did you find those people who are in the research world Jillian.

Jillian Gilchrest:

Great question. So, so in my like planning stage for the working group, I started reaching out to the various health major health entities in the state, and one of those folks had the connection at UConn health that there was a doctor who would was focused in this and would like to participate. And then, interestingly, after our first meeting, there was a newspaper article on the working group, and the doctor at Jackson Laboratory who was doing research on this, her colleague went to her, she has since told me this story, and said, Hey, look what's happening. You should connect with them. And so she reached out, and she now has been a major part of our working group going forward.

Nancy Barrow:

Tell me how Connecticut Paid Leave fits into this conversation. How does it help women suffering from this, or caregivers?

Jillian Gilchrest:

So we were having a meeting recently, and we're having the conversation about, again, very much what Kaylee was sharing, and oh my god, Kaylee like to have to leave school, right? And then, you know, when you were sharing like, Thank goodness I had an understanding employer, but you still the guilt and shame of having to miss work because, again, with this disease not being recognized the way it should be, you are internalizing things and thinking like it's you who's somehow trying to get out of work, right? Like I am a person who, by nature, is weirdly guilty, you know. So I, like, I don't know if it's a woman thing, but like, so I can totally relate where you'd be, like, I just can't do this anymore. And then we have to think also about the the women who work for whom to miss a day of work is missed pay, right? You don't need sick time, you don't have vacation time. And so we were talking about, you know, the impact of that, and trying to come up with a solution. And I am embarrassed, because I was such a big pusher, and I'm so proud of paid leave, and it hadn't clicked. And so it was a doctor on the working group who was like, Well, you know, I refer patients for paid leave. And this light bulb of, oh my god, we already passed leave can help. And really the intermittent and the reduced schedule based on, you know what, what it seems like the majority of folks experiencing endometriosis, where they need maybe that week, a few days a month, you know, you'd be able to take that with paid leave. And the other really big positive is, you know, I thought one of the barriers might be that, again, to get the official diagnosis, as we've talked about, you need the surgery. But with the paid leave program, you don't need that official diagnosis. You need to be working with a healthcare provider, and they have to, you know, determine a constellation of symptoms and determine that there's a treatment in place, but you don't need the surgery, which, to me, is a game changer, right?

Nancy Barrow:

It is a game changer. But what was your recuperation time Kaylee, from those surgeries?

Kaylee Mitchell:

Yeah, so my, my first two surgeries were done laparoscopically. I had ablation, which is where they just burn off the disease. Typically it grows back. So I, I was my recovery was a week, but after three to four weeks, I started experiencing the symptoms all over again. So it was, it was very quick, my third surgery. I'm very grateful I was lucky enough to be able to have excision and my recovery. I mean, this was, this was recent. This was in March. I would say, I'm still recovering. I had a partial hysterectomy, because I also had adenomyosis, and then I had an appendectomy, which is the removal of the appendix. So, yeah, I went back to work. It was about a month, a month after that.

Nancy Barrow:

So that's where Connecticut Paid Leave would have come in handy to have that so you could have taken that whole time off and then still have extra time because it is 12 weeks, and you could still have used that for other appointments you know that you needed to do and to check in with your doctor. So I do think that paid leave is so important for women who are suffering from this. So what are the next women's health issues heading into this upcoming legislature?

Jillian Gilchrest:

We have a few things that we're looking at. One that links to this but also impacts additional folks, is infertility coverage in the state. So currently, coverage is very it's very antiquated in terms of it really looks at a heterosexual couple, and so we're looking to expand fertility coverage to those in the LGBTQ community, and to have Medicaid cover infertility. And additionally, we would expand the the disease definition so that folks with endometriosis would be covered. Currently, we address cancer so, you know, someone gets a cancer diagnosis and wants to freeze their eggs, they're able to do that, but we want to ensure that for folks experiencing other diseases where that might be necessary, they can do that as well. Oh, that's fantastic. And then there's a group of us who are looking at how to address women's pain and how it is often ignored and so yes, certainly what we've been talking about today. But we've also heard from from folks you know, who have gotten an IUD implanted and not been offered any medication. Then there are some people who are told, Oh, this will be painful. Bring someone with you. It just seems across the board when it comes to women's medical issues, the pain piece is just not being addressed.

Nancy Barrow:

Interestingly enough, when we're talking about endometriosis, and if you do have to get a partial or a full hysterectomy, then you're talking menopause. Are you looking at anything in that arena?

Jillian Gilchrest:

I'd love to say like, yes, we have a bill on the horizon. Fascinatingly, those conversations are just starting, so I do think in the next few years you'll see legislation to address again, just this, like the misconceptions, the lack of information when it comes to menopause, but I think you know, based on the conversation we've had today, it really is tied together that for so long, these things just weren't discussed, and now that we have more women in office, I think we're seeing these issues come to the forefront.

Nancy Barrow:

Did you think your bill was going to pass as quickly as it did?

Jillian Gilchrest:

No, I thought there was going to be a lot more education needed. What was so positive? Slash though negative based on like, what this disease is, is that once it was brought up, I have so many people coming up to me to tell me that it get like their wife, their mother, they themselves, and so it really is this, like not spoken about disease, but once we brought it out there, people knew what it was. You know, they know what it is, and they were so happy we were doing something to address it.

Nancy Barrow:

Kaylee, any advice for someone listening, who may think they have some of the symptoms that you were talking about, and maybe talk about some of your symptoms, more of your symptoms?

Kaylee Mitchell:

Oh, sure, so my symptoms, they're mostly gi related, like IBS typical symptoms and pelvic pain, sciatica is a is a big one that I experienced, bloating, fatigue, abnormal, bleeding, pain with intercourse, pain with bowel movements, pain with urination. That was, that was a big one. I was also misdiagnosed with interstitial cystitis at one point. So it really it affects your whole body. And because the symptoms are so vast, sometimes it's very hard to piece it all together, especially if, if the person you know is mixed misdiagnosed with something or doesn't or doesn't know. So the first thing I did in my journey that helped me was I started a journal. I started writing everything down, you know, each day of the month, what I felt like, what I was experiencing, and then I brought that to my health care provider, and that helped them piece everything together. Another thing you know, someone can do if they think they have endometriosis is, you know, start talking to people if they're comfortable. I say, like, one of the biggest pieces, I think, and it does take a while to get there, is just sharing your story. You know, you could start somewhere, you know, some somewhat private like Reddit, like a blog or something. You could talk to people. You could talk to, you know, your close friends, family and that really, that helped me, me a lot. I'd also recommend. Is finding support groups. You know, almost, I think almost every state, I don't want to say every state has a Facebook group that's that's dedicated to, to endometriosis, and I mean, the support group I started there, they're so grateful just to connect and and realize what's going on and know they're not alone and what they're experiencing.

Nancy Barrow:

And how can people find your support group?

Kaylee Mitchell:

Oh sure yeah, so it's on Facebook. It's called Connecticut Endometriosis Support Group. I also have a website. It's www.helloendochick.com. It's a blog I started, but you can find links there, and even if you're not on Facebook, you could just shoot me an email, and we meet weekly on Zoom, and I can add them to the Zoom call.

Nancy Barrow:

Representative Jillian Gilchrist, she serves the 18th district in West Hartford. She's a big supporter of Connecticut Paid Leave. Thank you so much for all you do for Connecticut residents and women. I appreciate you so much, and thanks for being on the podcast.

Jillian Gilchrest:

Thank you so much for having me.

Nancy Barrow:

And Kaylee Mitchell, advocate support group, founder and patient, continued good health to you. I hope that you are on the road to recovery and are feeling better.

Kaylee Mitchell:

Thank you so much!

Nancy Barrow:

For more information about endometriosis, you can go to the podcast show notes. for information or to apply for benefits, go to ctpaid leave.org. This has been another edition of The Paid Leave Podcast. Please like and subscribe so you'll be notified about new podcasts that become available. Connecticut Paid Leave is a public act with a personal purpose. I'm Nancy Barrow, and thanks for listening.

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