Unpacking the Rage of 15 Years Living with Chronic Pain

MaKenzie has received a slew of chronic pain and chronic illness diagnoses over the years, including Chiari malformation, lupus, Sjogren’s disease and Hashimoto’s syndrome, but she isn’t focused on her diagnoses. She’s focused on managing the daily impact of her symptoms and the emotional toll this journey has taken. She Read more…

The Infuriating Contradictions of Undiagnosed Illness

Courtney refers to herself as a hot potato patient, being passed from specialist to specialist in search of a diagnosis to her mystery illness, but none of these providers have been willing to keep digging until an answer is found. She used to be an avid globe trotter while working Read more…

Lupus Nephritis Inspired Marimee Toya Jules to Found the Village Tree Health Support Network

In her early 20s, Marimee (who goes by Toya) was diagnosed with lupus nephritis. This is a complication found in people with systemic lupus, in which lupus autoantibodies damage the kidneys, causing impaired function or even kidney failure. At first, Toya was horrified to discover she had this disease, being Read more…

Her Laundry List of Diagnoses Inspired a Children’s Book About Autoimmune Disease

Heather has accumulated an overwhelming number of medical diagnoses, including Sjogren’s disease, vasculitis, SLE lupus, new daily persistent headache disorder, small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and endometriosis. At 20 years old her boyfriend (who is now her husband) sat her down to say she was sick and needed to go Read more…