NJ Woman Needed Transfusion After Her First Period At 13. Now She's Running NYC Marathon

NORTH JERSEY — When Gianna Peko, 26 — a Mahwah native who now lives in Jersey City — got her first period at 13, she bled for around a month, she said, and wound up in the hospital.

At first her family figured she was experiencing a normal symptom of puberty, as women's early periods are notoriously irregular.

Peko, who grew up in Mahwah, wouldn't stop bleeding.

When her mother brought her to an emergency room in North Jersey, the doctors said she had lost so much blood, she'd need a transfusion.

After the procedure, Peko says, she didn't have much testing and didn't get a diagnosis. Her periods continued to be irregular through adulthood.

In an interview, she said it was her first sign that women's health is not always taken seriously enough. But she didn't realize it at the time.

'It's Part Of Becoming A Woman'

"It was like, [doctors] give you birth control and say, 'This happens sometimes,' "she said. "When you don't know, you don't know. Looking back, there should have been way more done. When you're told, 'It's part of becoming a woman,' I kept that with me."

Experts have said that because women of past generations tended to have their children young, reproductive research is years behind other types.

It was Peko herself who raised the question, in her twenties, of whether she had endometriosis.

The Mayo Clinic describes endometriosis as "an often-painful condition in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It often affects the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining the pelvis." Just like the lining of the uterus, it thickens, breaks down, and bleeds, but it doesn't always have a place to go.

Peko eventually saw a specialist and got life-changing surgery in 2022, she says. She's now being treated properly for the disorder. But she worries that so many women have symptoms and are brushed off.

Peko, an investment banker, said she was always an active athlete, but got so tired from her condition that it was hard to continue.

"Endometriosis does take a lot out of you," she said. "I went from someone who was very, very active my whole life, and playing soccer, to being unable to leave my first apartment in New York City."

To raise awareness for her disorder and women's health, and to make it clear that her symptoms won't stop her, she's helping raise funds for research as part of Team EndoStrong in the New York City marathon next month.

Was A Runner

Peko told Patch that she already ran two half-marathons this year — one in Fairfield, Conn. and one in Brooklyn. But she's training for the big one, the 26-mile event.

"Running is one thing that grounds me," she said. "Whenever the symptoms and management of the disease get tough, I know finishing is going to be very meaningful."

She said women should always advocate until they get the right treatment for whatever ails them.

"I was diagnosed in 2022," she said. "It's too complex when it shouldn't be, in my opinion. I have struggled from the time I was 12, 13 years old."

'Eat Better' Isn't A Solution

She said, "I think my story and millions of other women's stories are testament to [the fact that] not enough research was done previously. The lack of information out there, as a patient and as a woman, it's frustrating."

She said, "When you find out you have this disease, you're handed...'Eat better, don't drink too much, don't have too much caffeine, eat a Mediterranean diet. We'll put you on birth control.' Well, everyone can eat better and exercise more. That's not an effective cure for disease. In terms of research, medical care, it's lacking. The fact that it took me 10 years to get diagnosed is a testament to that."

She said that if raising awareness makes a small difference to someone, that's "super important."

"Even in my own journey, people posting, talking about their own experiences is what led me down the path of figuring out what was actually wrong with me."

She's not alone in facing an uphill battle through the healthcare system. Just last week, Newsweek ran an essay by a woman who said that finally getting diagnosed and treated for low blood sugar resolved 44 symptoms she'd had for years.

Peko said, "If you're female and you have a health issue, constantly continue to advocate for yourself. Don't take no for an answer."

Find out about more Gianna Peko's run and fundraiser here.

Find out more about the Endometriosis Foundation and Peko's surgery here.