If you were to look at me, you would see someone who is young, joyful, and healthy-looking. I am young and joyful, but I am not healthy. I deal with multiple chronic illnesses: lupus, idiopathic hypersomnia, and asthma. I also dealt with a pituitary tumor until I was healed from it. My health problems began when I was 11, but I would not learn my diagnoses until 14 years later at 25. This was in large part because I had a hard time finding doctors who would believe me since I didn’t “look” sick. Shortly after my diagnoses, my health plummeted to the point that I became disabled for over a year. My health has stabilized since then, and I have been in an upswing, but every day is still a struggle. A Life Unimagined is my story: the ups, the downs, my victories, and finding joy in the midst of suffering.
If you would like to learn more about my diagnoses:
- Lupus: https://www.lupus.org/resources/what-is-lupus
- Idiopathic Hypersomnia: https://www.hypersomniafoundation.org/about-idiopathic-hypersomnia/
- Asthma: https://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/asthma/
- Pituitary Tumor: https://abta.org/tumor_types/pituitary-tumors/