When Rev. Dr. Judith Moore took over as pastor of the North Side’s Greater Allen AME Church last September, she was on a mission to grow the church’s membership, help the members of the community see who God was and serve in a leadership role.
“I’m in the travel ministry and the beautiful thing about AME is that you can serve in various churches,” explained Rev. Moore, who pastored Clairton’s First AME Church for eight years before moving on to Greater Allen. “I’ve been in the Mon Valley for 13 years.”
So when she started experiencing health problems years ago, the New Kensington resident assumed that they came from a hysterectomy she had done and kept right on ministering to the community.
She experienced bladder discomfort, low energy, bloating and was having recurring urinary tract infections. The symptoms lasted for eight years.
“I was ignoring the feelings and I didn’t stop long enough to get checked out. I was so busy being pastor and pouring out to other people that I forgot to pour into myself,” said the Florida native.
After meeting with her primary care physician and going through a battery of tests—some of which were very evasive and painful—Rev. Moore was sent to a urologist who diagnosed her with a rare bladder and pelvic disorder, for which there is no treatment or cure.
“The doctors took me through tests to rule out what my condition was not,” she said. “When they started sending me for tests I knew I didn’t need. I knew I didn’t need that because I didn’t have ovaries anymore—I knew my body really well and I started asking questions. We immediately think ‘oh they’re the doctors and they’re the specialists and they should know what they’re doing. ‘ But people have to remember that there is human being in there and it takes a toll emotionally and physically.”
Throughout the years of pain and discomfort, Rev. Moore chronicled all of her experiences in a secret journal.
“I didn’t want anyone to know what I was going through. To me it was personal and it was private and I didn’t feel comfortable sharing it,” she said.
Now, Rev. Moore has learned how to maintain her symptoms and felt that it was time to share her story with the women who may be silently suffering from the same symptoms.
She authored and self-published, “God & I Navigating a Mysterious Illness,” a 94-page easy read that shares her medical journey.
“When I was diagnosed, I started doing research and I found that there is very little information out there about bladder and pelvic disorders. I wrote this book to heighten the awareness for the need for research and for women to realize that no matter what they’re going through, God can get them through it,” she said.
The book, which was published by Plug & Play Publishing, was released for sale on May 31. Rev. Moore had a book signing at her alma mater, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary—she received her doctorate from the institution in 2006-facilitated the book signing.
“I’ve sold about 200 copies so far and I’m trying to figure out how to get it into the hands of the medical community. A lot of times when you’re filling out medical forms, you don’t see anything about bladder or pelvic disorders. There needs to be a dialogue. I want to formulate a dialogue through social media about the issue and I’m contemplating starting a support system for the disorder.”
Through it all, Rev. Moore found that she had a built-in resilience that only could have come from God.
“I didn’t know how strong I was. I’m living my best life right now,” said Rev. Moore who is gearing up her yearly Sisters Saving Ourselves Now Summit in August and Greater Allen’s annual conference in September. I’m a better pastor, a better person and a better Christian, and my relationship with God is stronger. I’ve learned how to slow down and I learned how to be quiet. I know how to refresh and renew myself. I’m hoping that people who read the book will learn and grow from it.”
“God & I Navigating a Mysterious Illness” is available at www.amazon.com.
