Meet Yessenia Sandoval.

Yessenia (she/they) founded Endo Warriors Aotearoa from lived experience, cultural strength and a determination that no one should feel unheard, dismissed or alone.

Why Yessenia started EWA About the charity

Yessenia Sandoval, founder and Charity Director of Endo Warriors Aotearoa

A life shaped by advocacy

Culture, community and determination

Yessenia was born in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington, and has Indigenous Chilean heritage. Her father, Jorge, came to Aotearoa as a political refugee from Chile.

Through her family and culture, Yessenia learned the importance of advocacy, helping others, strength and determination—values that later became part of EWA’s foundation.

La unión hace la fuerza — unity makes strength.

February 2020

A community born from being unheard

After two decades of living with endometriosis, repeated hospital visits and feeling isolated in severe pain, Yessenia decided to create the kind of community she had needed herself.

EWA began as a place where those with endometriosis could find understanding, practical help and connection without having to prove that their pain was real.

What Yessenia wanted others to know

You deserve to be heard and believed
You should not have to navigate endometriosis alone
Accurate information can strengthen self-advocacy
Lived experience belongs in decisions about care and support

Yessenia’s story

From pain to purpose

This story is now part of Yessenia’s page, rather than sending readers to a separate blog.

Content note

This personal account discusses severe bleeding, surgery, infection, sepsis, medical dismissal, trauma, loss of mobility and the impact on parenting and work. Please read it when you feel ready.

The surgery that was meant to help

In 2019, after bleeding continuously for more than seven months, fainting from blood loss and struggling to manage daily life, Yessenia was offered a hysterectomy. She was exhausted but hopeful that the surgery would finally give her life back.

The surgeon she had met was replaced at the last minute, and the operation was not performed by an endometriosis specialist. Her uterus, cervix and one remaining fallopian tube were removed, while her ovaries were left in place. The surgical notes were brief, and no endometriosis was removed.

Infection, dismissal and fighting to be heard

After surgery, extensive bruising appeared down one side of Yessenia’s body. She was discharged, but returned to hospital repeatedly in severe pain. Each time, she explained that she could barely walk or care for herself and did not feel safe going home.

At home after one discharge, she collapsed and had to crawl upstairs. Her wound later opened, she developed a high fever and she returned to the emergency department. The infection developed into sepsis and led to months of hospital admissions and treatment.

During this period, Yessenia experienced disbelief, judgement and delayed responses while asking for help. Even when tests showed the infection was not responding to treatment, she had to keep advocating to be taken seriously and to receive the care she needed.

The fear, dismissal and loss of dignity caused lasting harm. Yessenia developed complex post-traumatic stress disorder associated with medical trauma.

Life after surgery

Recovery took months and changed every part of Yessenia’s life. She needed help at home and, as a single mum, spent long periods apart from her son because she was physically unable to care for him.

Before surgery she worked full-time, taught yoga part-time and lived an active life. Afterward, she experienced persistent pain and a loss of mobility, and eventually had to leave her job. Rebuilding her life required time, support and enormous determination.

What Yessenia wishes others knew

A hysterectomy is not a cure for endometriosis

A hysterectomy removes the uterus. Endometriosis lesions are found outside the uterus, so symptoms can continue if disease remains elsewhere in the body. Some may experience relief from particular symptoms, but it is not a guaranteed cure for endometriosis.

Yessenia’s experience shows why anyone considering surgery deserves clear information about its purpose, alternatives, risks, the surgeon’s specialist experience and what follow-up support will be available.

Health decisions are individual. Information on this website supports informed conversations but does not replace advice from a qualified health professional who understands your circumstances.

Questions you deserve to ask

What is this surgery intended to treat?
What symptoms might it improve—and what might continue?
What experience does the surgical team have with endometriosis?
What alternatives, risks and recovery needs should I understand?
What should I do if I feel unsafe or unwell after surgery?

Why Endo Warriors Aotearoa exists

No one should have to fight alone

Endometriosis took a great deal from Yessenia, but it did not take her determination to create change. Her experience is why she founded EWA: so others could find trusted information, practical support, community and help speaking up for their needs.

If this story feels familiar, you are not alone. Your pain and concerns deserve to be taken seriously.

Yessenia’s message

No one should go through endometriosis feeling silenced, dismissed or alone. Those with endometriosis deserve informed care, respectful treatment and support that sees the whole person—not only their pain.

Leading EWA today

What began as community action has grown into a registered charity with education, support, advocacy, resources, events and research-support work.

Education

Yessenia helps deliver practical, lived-experience-informed learning for schools, workplaces and communities.

Support

She leads community connection and helps those seeking information, advocacy and a pathway through difficult systems.

Advocacy

Yessenia brings community experiences into public conversation, media, policy work and calls for meaningful health-system change.