11/23/2025
After about 11 weeks of being in the worst autoimmune flare I’ve ever experienced, I am finally feeling more like myself again! 🥳
A big part of feeling better has been from changing my diet, my daily habits, and managing stress levels - all of which meant that I had to focus more on how I wanted to feel than on what I wanted to do (or not do) in that moment.
My doctor believes I’ve developed a connective tissue disease (a group of conditions where the body’s immune system attacks its own connective tissues, causing inflammation and damage to various parts of the body like joints, skin, and organs) and while it is still in the early stages and not specific at this point, it most likely will progress over time.
My goal is to slow that progression as much as possible as possible. And to do that, I need to take the very best care of myself that I can.
To be able to live the life that I want to live - one filled with nature, adventures, spending time with my amazing husband, and making a difference at a job that I love, I will do whatever it takes because my desire to have that life is bigger than the desire to make myself comfortable in the short term.
We have to be willing to do the hard things. Sometimes that looks like a climb that scares the crap out of you, like my Via Ferrata climb. Sometimes it’s a hard workout that we don’t think we can do. Sometimes it’s meal prepping when we’d rather just wing it.
Sometimes it is choosing to not eat things that I know will cause inflammation, even if I know they taste good. Sometimes it’s putting the phone down and making myself do my bedtime routine so I can get sleep and my body can heal and recover.
The hard things help us grow and heal. 💚
