Living Without A Vagina | BORN DIFFERENT

EMILY Green, 22, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, which means she was born without a fully formed vagina. She explained to Truly: “One in five thousand women are born with it, it means I was born without a uterus and a fully formed vagina. I’ve got both ovaries, which hopefully are healthy, but I won’t be able to find that out for a few years yet.” Her mental health was also negatively affected by the diagnosis: “I was just humiliated and embarrassed by it. When I found out, it was really tough.” Adding that: “I didn’t want people to judge me, I didn’t feel like a woman.” She was diagnosed at 16 years old and started on the treatment of dilation, but medical staff realised after a couple of months it wasn’t working as well as they’d hoped. So Emily underwent surgery, which she described as “excruciating and really horrible.” Emily regularly blogs about her experience and has now found acceptance with other members of the MRKH community, where she can discuss the impact of the condition. This is one of the reasons she has gained confidence from her journey: “It's part of who I am, it is my story, I don't want to pretend that it’s not me, it is me.”