My illness became a lifeline.

Chronic illness is a BITCH.

I think most of us can agree on that one.

In 2025, I went from cycling 50+ miles along the Cali coast in February to bed-bound and reaching for a walker by spring. Stark. Unforgiving. That shit wrecked me, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

It stole my ability to go the extra mile (and then some). In the fast-paced world I typically thrived in, I couldn't run on volume and adrenaline anymore. The "always on" engine just... cut off. And every time I tried to push past it? That got me real friendly with the ER.

That killed my spirit. Because so much of my worth was wrapped up in what I could deliver.

It forced me to slow down. Of course I hated it, watching my peers cruise past me. But somewhere in the stillness, I realized how much of a disservice I'd been doing to myself. Being forced to do less showed me that "more is better" was a lie.

An illness became a lifeline.

After months of being a medical mystery, the amaaazing doctors at Duke diagnosed me with a few lifelong chronic illnesses by the fall. The two big ones: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). Soon after, I made the jump from corporate to building my own freelance practice.

It was my chance to build a creative life around my unpredictable body, by design. It takes into account pacing, project-based work, energy economics. I started measuring by impact, not output, and the work got sharper, because when you can only do a little, you do what matters... and you do it well.

Somewhere in all that, I fell back in love with the work. The illness took my old capacity and handed back the joy I'd lost to the hustle years before I ever got sick.

Yes, I'm still using a rollator (her name is Tina Turn-a) or my cane (aka Big Daddy Cane). But I'm able to work on projects I love with amazing minds in a way that my body appreciates.

Real talk: if you've worked with me in the past few months, you'd probably never know my new limitations. Because I found a way to make the job work for ME. There are invisible logistics that help me do this work sustainably. And babyyyy, the output is undeniable.

Listen, I don't wish my road on anyone. But I'd wish the destination on everyone: work that fits your life instead of work that swallows it.

Just know you can build toward that now (without the excessive medical bills).