Nicole’s pain began when she was just a teenager. At first, her symptoms were brushed off as anxiety and depression. Doctors placed her in psychiatric programs, prescribed medications that made her lose vision, and told her to “stop thinking about it.” For years, Nicole was treated as if her suffering was all in her head.

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In reality, Nicole had endometriosis, a systemic inflammatory disease that affects the entire body. It took visits to more than 50 gynecologists, countless dismissals, and years of missed school, friendships, and life experiences before she finally found a specialist who confirmed what she had known all along: something was deeply wrong. Surgeons discovered 73 lesions across her pelvic organs.

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Nicole’s journey has been defined by resilience. What nearly broke her became fuel for advocacy. She now fights to make excision surgery, the gold standard for treatment, more accessible to women everywhere. Through her nonprofit and work with SHE+, Nicole is determined to ensure no girl has to wait over a decade for answers or be told her pain is “just in her head.”