Glass City March Against Chronic Illness

My name is Callie Staton, I am a 19-year-old Law and Social Thought student attending the University of Toledo, and I suffer from a chronic, incurable disease called Endometriosis.
Little more than a month ago, I was diagnosed with a chronic disease called Endometriosis; a pelvic disease that attacks a female’s reproductive system, causing the growth of cysts and lesions in the pelvic and abdominal areas, massive scarring, and extreme abdominal pain. This disease affects more than 176 million women worldwide, according to the Endometriosis Foundation of America, and can be cause for the early onset of Menopause, Endometrial cancer, and infertility. And, as those of us who suffer on a daily basis from chronic illnesses have been forced to accept time and time again, there is no cure for this disease, just as there isn't for so many others.
If Endometriosis alone affects 1 in 10 women (Roughly, 176 million women worldwide), I shudder to think of the impact that other chronic illnesses have, such as Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and various mental diseases.
Endometriosis has its own awareness month of March, and I would love nothing more than to attend the annual Endomarch held in San Diego. However, due to my schooling and overall health concerns, that won’t be at all possible for me. I feel it an enormous shame that so many women suffer from a disease that has robbed them of so much already, and won’t even be able to attend an event created to support them and their struggles. Can you imagine how many men, women, and children in our very own community, suffer from a chronic disease on a daily basis right under our noses and without our knowledge? Can you imagine such individuals feeling as if they suffer all alone in their illness, feeling as if their illness is so unspectacular and so little understood, that it isn’t worthy of gaining massive attention?
I myself have felt this way before; feeling as if my struggles don’t matter, and as if I have no one to identify with and relate to. This is why I strongly believe the city of Toledo should host such an event in March of this upcoming year, not just for those who suffer from Endometriosis, but from all chronic diseases. I feel that it will spark a spirit of unity within our community that so many people need, simply so they can muster the courage to fight their disease another day.
Thank you all for your time, consideration, and attentiveness toward this matter. We all know and love someone who combats an "invisible illness" every single day. Just because someone may not look or appear to be "sick" does not mean their voices deserve to be left unheard, and something must be done to help them.