”Suffering years of agony led me to my dream job”
endometriosis forced teacher Amy trumpeter, 39, from Liverpool, to quit the classroom. But after surgery she has hope and a new career
It was the end of another long day and I was looking forward to getting home and putting my feet up. A teacher in a big comprehensive school, I’d been on the go since 8am, starting with meetings, then back-to-back classes. As usual, I didn’t get time for a lunch break because I was marking homework and had to deal with a girl who’d been a bit cheeky.
I reached for my coat and that’s when it happened – a full-blown panic attack. My heart was pounding and my whole body shook. Somehow I got myself on the bus and called my mum, Angela, to come and meet me at my flat. “I can’t do it any more,” I sobbed.
It was May 2016 and I was 35. Two years earlier, my horrendous period pains made it impossible to carry on working. But feeling stronger, I’d decided to give teaching one more try. By now it wasn’t just pain I was suffering – the fear of it was bringing on panic attacks. I’d been having them for a few weeks but kept them under control. But this one was terrible and I knew it had beaten me.
Since I was 14 I’d suffered terrible periods – heavy bleeding and pain so bad it felt like I was being stabbed. Doctors kept saying it was just the way it was and I believed them. I had a lot of time off school, but I was determined to work hard and got the grades to study theology at Manchester University.
After uni, I went into teacher training and got my first job at a school in Oldham, teaching history and geography. In my twenties, the pain and heavy bleeding worsened and I had constant UTIS. At 24, fed up with being fobbed off, I pushed my GP for a referral. The ultrasound scan showed nothing unusual in my uterus and bladder, but soon after, during a smear, a large cyst was discovered in my vagina. It was drained in hospital and I was sent on my way.
At 28, I got a great job in a London school as a head of department, but I was torn. I’d been with my boyfriend, Simon Green, then also 28, for four years and I didn’t want to leave him. “Go on,” he said. “It’s too good to miss. We’ll see each other at weekends.”
Though the workload was massive, I loved living in London. But gradually my problems got worse. The pain could be any day of the month, not just around my periods, and it was sometimes so bad that I’d pass out and wake up in a pool of blood. I was so tired all the time that I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.
forced to quit
By then my work was being affected. I’d developed coping strategies like teaching from a chair because I couldn’t stand up for long. I had a really good relationship with the kids, but as a teacher you need to get round your class to give pupils individual attention and I struggled. My teaching standard was always high, but when I started ringing in sick the kids had to have supply teachers and that caused problems. There were days when I couldn’t get out of bed and I know some colleagues thought I was skiving.
I didn’t want to give up teaching, but after that huge panic attack I was signed off sick for two weeks and that ran into the summer holidays. I knew I couldn’t go back for the next term – there was no way I could stand up in front of a class until I was 65. But I needed a proper medical diagnosis if I was to be able retire on health grounds and claim my pension.
I made the decision to move back to Simon, who was living in York. I’m not sure what I’d have done without him – he’s a scientist and can do a lot of his work from home, so he was able to take care of me when things got bad.
It was then I decided to go to a private gynaecologist and that was the breakthrough. After examining me, the doctor said he suspected I had endometriosis – a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow on other pelvic organs. I was referred for an NHS appointment and, in August 2017, I had a laparoscopy to examine my internal organs.
When I came round from the anaesthetic I was told they had found endometriosis cysts everywhere – on my ovaries, fallopian tubes, peritoneal wall, bladder and bowel. It was classed as stage four, the most serious type, and I needed surgery to clear it up.
The surgeon explained my vaginal cyst was very likely part of the disease and the cysts were also the reason behind my bladder and bowel problems. The ultrasound I’d had more than 10 years ago wasn’t the right test for endometriosis.
I was put on the waiting list and a couple of months later, soon after turning 36, I was allowed to retire on partial health grounds. My pension was just £300 a month – enough for me to pay for food and bus fares – but
I had taught myself digital marketing, blogging and search engine optimisation through online courses, which helped me to pick up freelance work from clients
‘I know some colleagues thought I was skiving’
in things such as retail and travel. However, I realised I had to reassess my life and find a new income.
That was when I had a lightbulb moment – why didn’t I make my travel blog my living? I had started the blog after a holiday to Tallinn, estonia, with Simon in 2015, and gradually added bits and pieces about other places I’d visited, such as english cathedral cities and places I knew about from my degree studies.
travelling the world
When I felt up to it I started to travel. Sometimes I went with Simon, but when he couldn’t get time off work I went solo. My blog grew, and with income from advertisers I financed trips to amazing places such as Israel, Morocco and Thailand. I hosted guest writers and gave tips and insights on travelling as a solo woman and also someone with a chronic illness.
Finally, in February 2018, I had a six-hour operation to remove the cysts and all the diseased tissue.
I was over the moon when the surgeon said that I’d be good for five to 10 years, but after just six months I started experiencing symptoms again. An examination showed the tissue had grown back and the cysts had invaded my bowel.
I tried to carry on with my life and made my last trip in March 2019 with my mum Angela. It was tiring, but when we visited the ruins of the ancient city of Carthage in Tunisia, it was worth all the pain.
In October last year I went back under the knife for a seven-hour operation to remove the tissue and cysts and a re-section of my bowel – the condition made me so severely constipated that I would sometimes faint from the pain.
Thankfully I recovered quickly and I’m now looking forward to a fantastic trip I have planned for the end of January – Mum and I are off to Cambodia to see the amazing 12th-century temple complex of Angkor Wat.
This year Simon and I might also consider IVF. Because of the endometriosis, carrying a baby wasn’t an option before. If I’d been diagnosed earlier, maybe it would have been different, but we’ll never know.
The endometriosis might grow back at any time, but at the moment I feel great and very positive. After all, if I hadn’t had the condition I would still be teaching and would have missed out on my career as a travel writer, which I absolutely love. It’s been a difficult journey, but it’s been worth it.
‘I had a lightbulb moment – why didn’t I make my blog my living?’