像北爱尔兰成千上万的女性一样，科琳·克罗瑟斯等了几十年才得到治疗慢性子宫内膜异位症的医疗帮助——如今，得益于爱尔兰岛上的首例，她希望自己漫长的求医之路将成为过去。
Like thousands of women in Northern Ireland, Colleen Crothers waited decades for medical help to treat chronic endometriosis - and, now thanks to an all-island first, she's hoping her long road will be a thing of the past.
“机器人手术对我来说来得太晚了，”她说。“我希望其他女性不必等那么久。”她谈论的是北爱尔兰女性患者的一项新突破——贝尔法斯特市医院的达芬奇妇科机器人。
"Robotic surgery came too late for me," she said. "I hope other women won't have to wait as long." She is talking about a new breakthrough for female patients in Northern Ireland - the Da Vinci gynae robot at Belfast City Hospital.
由人类操作，机器人的手腕在狭小的盆腔空间内可以扭转和旋转，据说在复杂手术中比人手更精确，因为它更稳定。
Operated by humans, the robot's wrists can twist and turn in tight pelvic spaces and it is said to be more precise at complex surgery than a human hand because it is steadier.
贝尔法斯特的达芬奇机器人是爱尔兰岛上的首台，也是全英仅有的几台之一。
Belfast's Da Vinci robot is the first of its kind on the island of Ireland and one of only a few across the UK.
它有潜力大幅缩短北爱尔兰复杂妇科手术的等待名单，这些等待名单影响着成千上万女性的身心健康以及她们生育的能力。
It has the potential to massively reduce complex gynaecological surgical waiting lists in Northern Ireland, which affect thousands of women's physical and mental health and their ability to have children.
平均等待约七年才能进行涉及多个专科的复杂手术，治疗延误意味着一些女性需要子宫切除术，就像41岁的科琳一样。
With an average wait of about seven years for complex surgery, which involves several specialities, delayed treatment means some women require a hysterectomy, like Colleen at 41.
她成年生活都与慢性子宫内膜异位症为伴，14岁时开始出现慢性经痛。
She has lived with chronic endometriosis all of her adult life, having first begun to experience chronic period pain aged 14.
但又过了22年，她才被转诊至妇科，扫描确认她同时患有子宫腺肌症和子宫内膜异位症。
But it took another 22 years before she was referred to gynaecology and a scan confirmed she had both adenomyosis and endometriosis.
“由于每天的疼痛，我错过了很多家庭生活——这种疼痛持续了多年，”她说。
"I missed out so much of family life due to daily pain - pain that went on for years," she said.
“我不能生育——我不得不接受子宫切除术，并且提前进入更年期。“被告知不能生育，这很难接受，”她说。
"I can't have children - I have had to have a hysterectomy and I'm in early menopause. "To be told you can't have children is hard to swallow," she said.
作为一名紧急病例，科琳今年早些时候仅差几周就错过了达芬奇手术。
An urgent case, Colleen missed out on a Da Vinci operation by just weeks earlier this year.
她知道机器人的到来可能意味着她身后的女孩和女性能获得更好的结果。“这种技术太棒了，现在它终于来到这里，真是太棒了。”
She knows the robot's arrival could mean a much better outcome for girls and women coming behind her. "This type of technology is fantastic and it's amazing that it is now here.
“如果这能帮到另一位女性，我会很高兴，因为她就不必像我一样受苦了。”虽然她的手术是常规手术而非机器人手术，但终于得到所需的治疗让她感到宽慰。
"If anything like that can help another woman, I'm happy she won't have to suffer like I have." And while her surgery was conventional rather than by a robot, finally getting the treatment she needed has been a relief.
“效果很好——我的肚子感觉轻松多了，和以前相比，我几乎不再疼痛。”达芬奇手术机器人于5月成为贝尔法斯特市立医院妇科团队的一员。
"The outcome was good - my tummy feels lighter, and compared to before I am more or less pain free." Da Vinci became part of the Belfast City Hospital's gynaecology team in May.
它耗资240万英镑，资金来自该医疗信托机构内妇科服务的慈善捐款。
It cost £2.4m and was funded through charitable donations for gynaecological services within the trust.
迄今为止，它已完成130台手术——其中105台是针对复杂子宫内膜异位症女性患者的——并有四名顾问医生接受了使用该机器人的培训。
To date it has performed 130 surgeries - 105 of them being on women with complex endometriosis - and four consultants have been trained to use the robot.
这意味着复杂妇科病例被作为优先处理，不会在其他外科病例（包括癌症病例）到来时被挤占手术时段。
It means that complex gynaecology cases are being treated as a priority and are not being bumped when other surgical cases, including cancer cases, come in.
BBC北爱尔兰新闻获得许可现场观摩了达芬奇的操作过程——宛如真实版科幻创作，它拥有多个高耸的机械臂悬停在患者上方。
BBC News NI was given access to see the Da Vinci in action - and, like a real-life sci-fi creation, it has multiple towering robotic arms that hover over the patient.
虽然手术室内也有人类医生，但它为外科医生提供了“数字助力”，使切口更精准、创伤更小。
While humans are also in the theatre, it gives the surgeon a digital boost with incisions more precise and less invasive.
汉斯·纳加尔医生是受训操作达芬奇的外科医生之一，他是一名顾问妇科外科医生兼肿瘤科医生。他表示，北爱尔兰此前对复杂子宫内膜异位症女性患者的诊疗服务严重不足。
Dr Hans Nagar, a consultant gynaecological surgeon and oncologist, is one of the surgeons trained to operate Da Vinci. He said women with complex endometriosis had previously been ill-served in Northern Ireland.
“她们需要涉及不同专科医生的复杂手术，现在达芬奇让我们能够做到这一点，”他说。
"They require complex surgery involving different specialists and now Da Vinci lets us do that," he said.
“磨合需要一些时间，但我相信它会带来巨大改变，未来北爱尔兰其他地方也会引进机器人。”
"It will take some time to bed in but I believe it will make a big difference and there will be other robots going elsewhere in Northern Ireland.
纳加尔补充道：“这鼓励年轻医护人员留下来，或者在去过加拿大、澳大利亚、英国和爱尔兰共和国一段时间后选择回归。”
"That encourages young staff to either stay or to return after a time in Canada, Australia, the UK and the Republic of Ireland," Nagar added.
周一，北爱尔兰各地的子宫内膜异位症服务将获得资金支持，届时卫生大臣预计将宣布投资195万英镑以改善服务。
On Monday, endometriosis services across Northern Ireland are to get a financial boost when the health minister is expected to announce an investment of £1.95m to improve services.
这其中包括 70 万英镑投资，用于在贝尔法斯特市立医院和阿尔特纳格尔文地区医院设立两个区域性子宫内膜异位症中心，这将有助于为患有复杂子宫内膜异位症问题的女性开发专科服务。
That includes a £700,000 investment in two regional endometriosis centres located within the Belfast City and Altnagelvin Area hospitals, which will help develop specialist services for women with complex endometriosis problems.
作为分阶段投资的一部分，每个医疗信托机构还将获得 25 万英镑，用于症状较不复杂的女性患者。
Each health trust will also receive £250,000 as part of a phased investment for those women with less complex symptoms.
在宣布这一消息之前，卫生部长罗比·巴特勒表示，这项投资标志着北爱尔兰“改善女性医疗服务工作的重要里程碑”。
Ahead of the announcement, Health Minister Robbie Butler said the investment marked an "important milestone in efforts to improve women's health services" in Northern Ireland.
他说：“通过加强专科和本地服务、减少差异、扩大现代治疗选择的获取渠道，这将有助于确保更多女性在需要时获得所需的护理。”
"By strengthening specialist and local services, reducing variation and expanding access to modern treatment options, it will help ensure more women receive the care they need, when they need it," he said.
尽管科琳已经接受了手术，但她仍然需要针对子宫内膜异位症的专科护理。
Although Colleen has had her operation, she continues to need specialist care for endometriosis.
她多年来忍受的症状包括大出血、严重痉挛、盆腔疼痛，以及组织在错误位置生长并被困住。
The symptoms she lived with for years included heavy bleeding, severe cramping, pelvic pain and tissue growing and getting trapped in the wrong places.
在急诊科度过的一个夜晚——她因疼痛尖叫——让事态达到顶点，她的顾问医生建议尽快动手术。
A night in the emergency department - where she was screaming with pain - brought things to a head and her consultant advised surgery as soon as possible.
6 月，她接受了手术，其中包括子宫切除术和全肠剥离术，以尝试切除将子宫与肠道粘连在一起的子宫内膜异位组织。
In June, she had surgery, which included a hysterectomy and a full bowel shave to try to remove endometriosis tissue which attached her womb to her bowel.
她说，疼痛感觉像被刀刺进胃里——多亏了手术，这种疼痛现在已经缓解。
She said the pain felt like she was being stabbed in the stomach - pain that has now been relieved thanks to surgery.
子宫内膜异位症是一种类似子宫内膜的组织在身体其他部位生长的疾病，最常见于卵巢、输卵管和盆腔周围。
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other parts of the body, most commonly around the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and pelvis.
子宫内膜异位组织的问题在于，它的行为完全像子宫内膜，却被困在了错误的位置。
The problem with endometriosis tissue is that it behaves exactly like the womb lining but it is trapped in the wrong place.
手术室护士劳伦·贝斯特表示，达芬奇手术机器人的引进和专门的子宫内膜异位症中心的设立，正是北爱尔兰女性所需要的。
Lauren Best, a theatre nurse, said the arrival of Da Vinci and a dedicated endometriosis centre was what women in Northern Ireland needed.
“女性尽快恢复健康至关重要，而达芬奇手术系统意味着疤痕更小、恢复时间更短，这对患者有利，我正亲眼见证这一过程，”她说。
"I know how important it is for women to get back on their feet as quickly as possible and I am seeing that happen as Da Vinci means less scarring and quicker recovery time - that's good for patients," she said.
纳加尔表示，他希望所有为购买达芬奇手术系统捐款的人都能看到，这些善款已用到实处。
Nagar said he hoped all those who gave donations that led to the purchase of DaVinci could see the money had gone to good use.
“我想对所有捐款者说声谢谢，感谢所有患者及其家属，也包括那些失去亲人的人——他们的捐款正在帮助他人，我们都非常感激，”他说。手术四个月后，科琳同样心存感激。她已重返工作岗位，遛狗散步，并表示终于找回了生活的活力。
"I want to say thank you to everyone who donated to all the patients, their families, including those who have lost a loved one - their donations are helping others, and we all very grateful," he said. Four months on from surgery, Colleen is also grateful. She is back to work, walking her dog and said she is finally getting her buzz back.
尽管她不得不面对早发性更年期，且知道自己永远无法做母亲，但目前无痛的状态已足够让她欣慰。
While she is having to deal with early menopause and knowing she will never be a mum, the fact she is pain free is, at present, enough.