Comedian Amy Schumer shares personal news from hospital bed
American comedian Amy Schumer has shared an intimate glimpse of her painful medical condition with 10.9 million followers on Instagram.
The 40-year-old actor asked her husband Chris Fischer to film the video, appearing from her hospital bed just a day after having surgery.
In the clip, Schumer revealed she had just had her uterus and appendix removed due to endometriosis.
The first clip shared on her social media account was captioned: If you have really painful periods you may have #endometriosis
“So, it’s the morning after my surgery for endometriosis and my uterus is out,” Schumer said in the video.
“The doctor found 30 spots of endometriosis that he removed. He removed my appendix because the endometriosis had attacked it.
“There was a lot, a lot of blood in my uterus and I’m, you know, sore and I have some, like, gas pains,” she added.
Her fans quickly responded to the clip in solidarity, with the post garnering more than 12000 comments within two days.
A second clip closely followed, captioned: Women are made to feel like they are just supposed to “tough it out” but that is bulls–––. We have a right to live pain free. Have you ever heard of endo?
“I’m feeling really hopeful and I’m really glad that I did it,” Schumer says in the footage.
Fischer can then be heard asking his wife who the videos were for.
The I Feel Pretty star told him it was important to her to raise awareness for the common condition as she feels it is not spoken about enough.
“So many people don’t even know the word endometriosis”, she said.
“One in 10 women has it and it’s really painful and debilitating and you don’t have to live with it.
“When I get a helpful female tidbit I like to pass it on to my sisters”, she added.
- Click here for more information about endometriosis
The disease causes tissue, similar to the lining of the womb, to grow in other parts of the body. It results in extremely painful symptoms and can also impact fertility.
More than 11 per cent of Australian women suffer from it at some point in their life, according to Endometriosis Australia.
Indian American author Padma Lakshmi, who was diagnosed with the disorder in 2006, thanked Schumer for her candour and tagged the Endometriosis Foundation of America.
“Thank you so much for sharing your endo story. Over 200 million women worldwide suffer with this. Hope you feel better soon!” Lakshmi wrote.
Fellow actor Selma Blair was also among the thousands of replies.
“I am so sorry. Rest. Recover”, Blair wrote.
The Cruel Intentions star has also used her personal health battles to raise awareness. Blair was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018 and has been an advocate since.
“I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others. And even to myself”, she said at the time.