A SAXOPHONIST who has battled endometriosis for the last two years will be performing a musical marathon around Bromsgrove to raise awareness of the condition.
Carol-Ann Hartells, the Bromsgrove and Droitwich Standard sales manager, will also be raising funds for Endometriosis UK when she takes to the streets on July 13.
The 43-year-old has chosen 13 places to play her music with the first letter of each spelling out ‘endometriosis’.
She will start in Engadine Road at 11am before heading to New Road at 11.20am.
Next up will be Dusthouse Lane (11.40am), Oakalls Avenue (12pm), Marlborough Avenue (12.20pm) and Edwin Crescent (12.40pm).
Carol-Ann will then play Talbot Road at 1pm, Rocky Lane at 1.20pm, the Iceland – Food Warehouse at 1.40pm and the Old Birmingham Road at 2pm.
Her final performances will be in Sanders Park (2.20pm), Isidore Road (2.40pm) and Strand Centre (3pm).
Carol-Ann said she had been in excruciating pain for a number of months before she was diagnosed with the condition in October 2017 and has been receiving treatment since then.
The endometriosis was graded ‘stage four’, it was on her bladder, fallopian tube and ovary, strangling her urinary tract and almost puncturing her bowel.
She has had two operations to remove her fallopian tube and ovary, along with a complex cyst.
The condition is dormant at the moment but because there is no cure for endometriosis it could return in the future.
Carol-Ann said before her diagnosis and treatment she was struggling on a daily basis.
“It’s left me with lots of nerve damage and nerve pain.
“Throughout my treatment and recovery, my saxophone and clarinet have been a massive part of helping me get through.
“Because of that I decided to combine the endo theme with my saxophone in a bid to raise awareness of this horrible condition and money for the charity working tirelessly to improve treatment for it in the future.”
Endometriosis affects one in ten women in the UK and it can take years for girls and women who have it to receive the diagnosis they need and only then can they begin their battle.
Carol-Ann added: “If you think you have endometriosis you often have to keep pushing to get the diagnosis.
“If this event helps just one sufferer of the condition it will have been worth it.”
Visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/c-hartellssaxathonforendometriosis for more on Carol-Ann’s story and to donate to her cause.
