“Because the truth is, the surprises life throws at you are always better than what you thought were coming.” 

Dear Reader,

Welcome! I can assure you the person who wrote and/or spoke these words has never had life’s surprises feel like an asteroid sent to implode both you and your life. Let’s be real, there’s some of life’s surprises that really aren’t that great. That frankly, just suck. 

I should be upfront and let you know this blog doesn’t come with nice, numbered steps of what to do to get through the shit that turns your life so completely upside down, when it’s over you’re left wandering around in a life that looks so foreign to you someone might as well have dropped you off on another planet and said, “Good luck!” I have not through my experience become enlightened, all knowing, or mastered grammar and punctuation. If any of those are deal breakers for you, I’d stop reading right now.

What I do have is a story everyone can relate to in some way. You don’t have to have lived my experience to relate to the experience of one day your life looking, feeling, and being one way and the next, life as you knew it no longer exists.  We all have lived experiences that have brought us to our knees, demolished the foundation of our life and self, and forced us to rebuild something resembling a life with the wreckage left behind. 

This blog is the story of my journey of surviving and thriving (hopefully) amidst life altering illnesses and the humors, tears, self-help authors, family, friends, therapists, doctors, nutritionists, meditation guides, and random strangers who help me do so.. In the words of the brilliant and bad ass Hillary Clinton, “It takes a village.”

August 7th 2022 is the day my life changed forever. I tested positive for Covid-19 and I’ve never gotten better. I went from being a healthy, active, full-time teacher to being sick for the last two years. Life now is filled with appts, checking my heart rate, phone reminders to remind me to eat, and daily attempts to finish puzzles designed for patients with dementia. Yes, Im 37 and struggling to complete puzzles designed for people with dementia.. one of many humbling moments over the last two years. I’ve been diagnosed with Post Covid Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Hyperadrenergic POTS, and a mild-moderate memory impairment. While my memory impairment makes it difficult for me to remember what I’ve eaten for breakfast, it has not affected my ability to remember Taylor Swift lyrics.. thank you baby Jesus.

I created this blog as a way to document my continued journey with chronic illness and also as way to help others struggling with their own chronic illness or with living a life they never thought they would be living. This blog does not contain medical advice, cures, or groundbreaking research. However it does contain the very real and human experience of thriving with chronic illness, quotes, song lyrics, and a large dose of sarcasm.