I thought about all the women out there who were just like she'd been — quietly living with a body that stopped responding, a desire that went silent, a part of themselves they thought was gone forever.
Not looking for solutions. Not asking questions. Because they didn't think anything was wrong. They thought this was just menopause. Just part of life.
I thought about my patients, the ones who did speak up.
The ones I'd told "this is normal" and moved on to the next topic. Who brought up intimacy and got sixty seconds of answers before we switched to mood swings or hot flashes.
The ones who I'd handed lubricant and sent on their way, thinking I'd helped.
They all deserved what my sister found.
This became more than research. More than a product. It became my chance to help thousands of women. The reason I became a doctor in the first place. My purpose.
If I could, I'd give it to every woman for free. But research costs money. Production costs money.
Years of development had to be paid for somehow.
So I brought in consultants to help me figure out how to price this in a way that could reach the most women possible.