Jennifer Fox has been battling endometriosis symptoms since her first period in eighth grade nearly three decades ago. From having to pull off a running trail as a teenager and curl up in a fetal position until the pelvic pain subsided so she could continue running to having a hysterectomy two years ago, Fox has been through it all.
Now, at 42, she’s reclaiming her life.
The Philadelphia native and New York City resident is raising money for EndoFound by participating in F45 HYROX New York 2025 on May 31 at Chelsea Piers along the Hudson River. HYROX is an endurance fitness race that combines eight kilometers (nearly five miles) of running with eight workout stations. Some stations include a 50-meter sled pull, 1,000 meters of rowing, and 100 meters of sandbag lunges.
“It’s a lot,” Fox said. “I’ve never done the race, and I haven’t been able to do anything for a long time because of my endometriosis, but I’m looking forward to it. The adrenaline will be pumping.”
Fox vividly recalls being doubled over on her uncle’s couch the first time she got her period. That same year, she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.
“The very first gynecologist I saw when I was 15 or 16 said I had probably had endometriosis but that there was nothing I could do for it other than take birth control,” Fox said. “It helped, but the side effects were terrible.”
In high school, Fox ran track and played soccer and basketball. She pushed through her pain while continuing to seek help from various doctors, but none could provide her with any relief.
“It was much of the same in college,” Fox said. She didn’t play collegiate sports, but the symptoms continued to cause significant disruptions. “I had to schedule everything around my period. For three to five days a month, I just did nothing.”
The pain and heavy bleeding persisted throughout her 20s and into her 30s, affecting every aspect of her life. Fox’s marriage ended in divorce, in large part because of the toll caused by the endometriosis. At her job as a nurse practitioner, she had to take heavy doses of medication and tuck heating pads into her pants to get through the day. Additionally, she developed an autoimmune disease during this time that caused extreme pain in her joints, to the extent that this former athlete struggled to exercise at all.
Fox didn’t hear the word endometriosis again until her late 30s.
“That was when I sought out an endometriosis specialist on my own,” Fox said. “Until then, the OBGYNs I’d seen didn’t believe specialists could do anything for me, and I’d been shunned so much that I believed whatever they said. Some told me birth control was the only solution. Others said getting pregnant was a cure. Even today, I see so many girls on different internet sites being fed this stuff.”
Fox had excision surgery in 2022. The relief was short-lived, though, because she found out that she also had adenomyosis. Nine months later, Fox returned to her surgeon for a hysterectomy.
“Mentally, I wasn’t ready to give up my uterus because I still had high hopes of having children,” Fox said. “But given my education in the medical field, having adenomyosis, and being in so much pain, I knew I had to have the hysterectomy.”
Following that surgery in June 2023, and with medication and physical therapy controlling her joint pain, Fox was pain-free for about a year. Though she’s feeling some pelvic and joint pain today, she said it’s been manageable. She can run two to three miles at a time now and is looking forward to seeing what she can do at HYROX.
“It’s miraculous to me that I’m doing this,” Fox said. “The race will really be a challenge, but I hope it will encourage other women with this disease to get back to doing the things they were doing.”
Fox also created a blog after her surgery for her own mental health and to help others suffering.
“I want my story to be out there,” Fox said. “I want women to seek the proper healthcare, to get treated sooner, and to not let all of these myths about endometriosis affect their quality of life. The fact that I first had symptoms when I was 14 and didn’t have my first surgery until 2022 is ridiculous. So many young girls are suffering. They need to find a specialist and do something about this now.”
To read Fox’s blog or to contact her about donating to her race on May 31, visit www.foxystyleblog.com.
Support Jennifer's Campaign! https://give.endofound.org/fundraiser/6148162
*Patient stories submitted to EndoFound.org are the patient's views, not necessarily those of the foundation. All testimonials are from real patients, may not reflect the typical patient’s experience, and are not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results.
