Interest Statement

The pain began suddenly and inexplicably in my groin in 2003, an intense feeling of burning, stabbing pins and needles. All the tests including an MRI showed nothing pathological. Even laproscopic surgery ruled out the usual female problems. The pain became worse. I could not believe it when my gynecologist said to me, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing more I can do for you.” This began a desperate journey to find pain relief that included needles in my vagina that reached the tip of my spine. Narcotic pain medications made me sick. For almost a year, the pain was so severe that I twice ended up in the emergency room. I finally found a doctor who diagnosed me with Genital Femoral Neuropathy. I am not pain-free yet but we have reduced the burning…

Up until this time, suicide entered my mind and I had to literally stop myself from driving full speed into stone walls. My pelvic pain was not only physical, but mental, emotional, and sexual, too. My husband was angry that I did not want or desire sex. Also, I have spent years as a news reporter and anchor in Los Angeles, but with great frustration, am not able to return to work.

So little is known about women’s pain issues, it is with great vigor that I join the fight to help. Had I not been as tenacious, I might not have seen this day. It is simply wrong that as we approach 2006, men can get Viagra for erectile dysfunction, but women with excruciating pain can’t get the dignity of a diagnosis and relief. It’s not in my head… it’s in my body and it hurts!

Biography

Tiiu Leek was born and raised in Canada by Estonian immigrant parents. Tiiu (pronounced “tee-you”) began her career as a model and actress. She traveled extensively throughout the world before settling in Los Angeles in the late 1970s where a stint as a roving reporter for a CBS-TV series “That’s My Line” prompted her return to school and journalism. She became an award-winning KTLA News reporter and anchor. She left the news biz to spend more time with her family but in 2003 started experiencing pain in her right groin.

She says, “The frustrating thing was that once the doctors could no longer find anything pathologically wrong, I was pretty much left to live on opiates (which make me nauseous and dizzy) until the pain made me desperate. Numerous doctors, visits to the emergency room, countless trigger point injections, epidurals, pain medications, varying diagnoses and battles with insurance, have truly tested my strength, but I refuse to succumb to a lifetime of chronic pain. With For Grace, my goal is to empower other women in pain to find their voice.”