Black people made up 48 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the South, but only 21 percent of PrEP users in the South; in the Midwest, Black people made up 48 percent of new HIV diagnoses, but only 12 percent of PrEP users. This regional disparity demonstrates the significant gap between HIV burden and preventive medication access among Black populations across different areas of the country.
After complications from a bladder prolapse surgery, a patient named Grace developed a hematoma, or pooling of blood, and she needed pelvic floor physical therapy to help her pelvic muscles relax after holding such a large mass of blood. Without PFPT, Grace's pelvic pain could get so severe that it was unbearable to sit down, and even after her hematoma disappeared, Grace still got flares: sudden onsets of pain that she says felt "like somebody was literally putting a vise into my vagina."