Emorie Harty fought through tears as she told her gut-wrenching story of having a hysterectomy five years ago at the age of 25. Before her surgery, she’d suffered from endometriosis for nearly 13 years without a diagnosis. But she’s turned her heartbreak and pain into a purpose.
“Since my diagnosis, I’ve made it my personal mission to tell my story to advocate for others,” Harty said. “If I can help one less woman be diagnosed at Stage IV, I’ve done my life’s work.”
Harty, an oncology nurse for breast cancer patients in Milwaukee, stayed true to that mission by raising more than $7,600 in EndoFound’s 2025 End Endo 5K the week of Sept. 15-21. She led the 382 participants nationwide, who collectively shattered last year’s record of just over $50,000 by raising $88,107. The funds will go toward endometriosis education, advocacy, and research.
Harty organized a team of 13 family members and friends to walk the 5K near her home. At the same time, people she knew in Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and other parts of Wisconsin joined her virtually.
“I think it’s amazing that Emorie is a caregiver while being someone who has suffered so greatly herself,” said Julie Edwards, EndoFound’s fundraising manager. “She also has been an incredible ally, sharing her story wherever she can. Her advocacy and passion for supporting people living with endo show the power of what one person can do.”
Harty’s symptoms began with her first period in middle school.
“I was in sixth grade,” she said. “By eighth grade, my period was so heavy for a week each month that I was going through eight super tampons a day, missing school, and living with a heating pad and ibuprofen.”
Harty’s pediatrician told her that her periods were normal before her OBGYN put her on birth control. Harty continued to struggle throughout high school with bleeding, cramping, nausea, and fatigue. But having watched her brother and father fight through serious illnesses, she convinced herself that she could do the same.
In college, a new symptom arose—she was struggling to have bowel movements, and when she did have them, they were agonizingly painful. One doctor told Harty, a Division III runner who ran 70 miles a week, that she was too athletic and needed to “take it down a notch.” Another doctor told her to take a stool softener and drink more water. Neither remedy worked.
Fast-forward to June 2020. Harty, at 24 years old and working full-time, faced the most horrific pain she’d ever experienced.
“It was constant and unbearable,” she said. “The heating pad and ibuprofen provided no relief. I was struggling to eat. It was taking over my life.”
Her primary care doctor sent her to urgent care, but nobody there could determine what was wrong. Harty returned to her doctor and demanded an ultrasound. It showed that she had a 10-centimeter mass on her ovary that needed to be removed immediately. She received those results on a Friday and was in for laparoscopic surgery on Monday. But during surgery, the surgeon had to call Harty’s mother.
“She said, ‘I need to open Emorie up. I can’t find her right ovary, and the left ovary is covered by the cyst,’” Harty said. “My mom was afraid they were going to have to take my uterus, and that decision was going to be on her.”
The surgeon did not remove her uterus, but she told Harty that she had stage IV endometriosis. The surgeon said she removed the cyst and what endometriosis she could find and felt comfortable removing, but she couldn’t get it all.
“That was really hard, you know?” Harty said through tears. “To be 24 years old and told you have this disease after nobody believed you for so long.”
Harty said her doctor told her throughout that summer that she would feel better soon, but she felt worse with each passing day.
“The first bowel movement I had after that surgery was excruciating. I followed up with another doctor who kept saying, ‘You have really, really bad endometriosis.’ I finally got a referral to a specialist who saw me at the end of September.”
That doctor ran some tests and called Emorie with the results.
“He said it wasn’t good. It was worse than he expected,” Harty said. “He went into detail about how the endometriosis was all over my pelvis and covering my rectum.”
Harty had surgery two days before Christmas. The surgeon expected it would last four hours. It took nine.
“My goal was to keep my uterus and keep everything, but I made the hard decision to have a radical hysterectomy,” Harty said, which included removing her uterus, an ovary (the second one would be removed in a later surgery), and fallopian tubes. She also had a bowel resection.
“I just couldn’t keep living like I was. I couldn’t continue to bleed. I couldn’t continue to be in pain. I was a fresh 25-year-old who wanted to be able to have fun. I wanted to be able to go on dates and not be stressed out about bleeding through my pants, which happened many times growing up.”
Harty is doing much better today, living without the pain that consumed her life for more than a decade. She said that, as difficult as it was to accept, the surgery was the “greatest Christmas present I ever could have received.”
“I have so much gratitude to this day because I was one of the fortunate ones who was finally diagnosed and received good care,” Harty said. “I know a lot of women aren’t as fortunate. So many people, even doctors and nurses, don’t know what endometriosis is.”
Harty is trying to reverse those misfortunes in several ways.
She shared her story on her hospital’s podcast. She created yellow wristbands that say ‘1 in 10: Endometriosis,’ referring to the number of women worldwide who have the disease. Before sharing her story here, the End Endo 5K was her latest effort, which she found through a Google search while lying in her hospital bed after her diagnosis in June 2020.
“I told my mom, ‘We’re going to do this!’” Harty said. “The [EndoFound] site gave me hope as I read about all these women sharing their stories, and it inspired me to share mine. My mom said, ‘Emorie, you’re going to be the reason why other women know about endometriosis. We’re going to share your story and advocate and do what we can to make sure no other woman is diagnosed with stage IV.’”
Harty said she and her friends have big things planned for next year’s 5K. Until then, she will tell her story wherever she can.
“I don’t want anyone to lose hope. There are people who will help you and support you,” she said. “And don’t be afraid to ruffle feathers to get a diagnosis. Speak up if you have a gut feeling. Demand that referral. Don’t be afraid to call and pester your doctor. Keep pushing and don’t take no for an answer.
“And give yourself grace,” she continued. “You’ll have good days and bad days. On the bad days, take the time you need to rest. On the good days, keep going. You have a whole network of women behind you.”
The 2026 End Endo 5K will be held Sept. 14-20. Registration will open in late August or early September. To receive email notifications about this and other EndoFound fundraising events, sign up at www.endofound.org/subscription.
