"I spent 15 years trying to be heard by a system that kept telling me nothing was wrong. So I built a space where you will always be heard."
Chapter One
About 15 years ago, I was a young woman who was in pain. Not sometimes. Every single day. I would ask my friends and family — is this normal? They had no idea what I was talking about. So we brushed it off.
I had blown out my knee at 19. Five serious concussions between 2012 and 2020, all hospitalized, all documented. I had been carrying things in my body for years that no one would name.
And about 12 years ago, I suddenly lost the vision in my right eye. It went white. For two days, looking through it felt like looking through water. The hospital told me it was probably a migraine.
Years later, I would understand exactly what that was.
I kept going to doctors. I kept telling them something was wrong. I kept being sent home with nothing.
February 2021
On February 11, 2021, everything changed. I was diagnosed with Graves disease — hyperthyroidism. My T3 and T4 levels were dangerously high. I was close to a cardiac event and needed medication immediately.
That night, while still processing everything, I went online. I read everything I could find about autoimmune function, inflammation, and what food actually does inside the body. And I made a decision. I was going to change the way I ate.
My endocrinologist told me clearly: this would not reverse. I would be on medication for life, and within a year and a half I would likely need my thyroid removed.
"I told her I was not having my thyroid removed."
For the next several months, I learned everything I could. I built a completely different relationship with food, with inflammation, with my own body. And I advocated for myself at every single turn.
Nine months later, my numbers had dropped so significantly my doctors took me off medication entirely. Approximately a year after that, it was formally noted in my records: I no longer had Graves disease.
Still Fighting
Reversing Graves disease did not mean I was well. My body was still not right. My emotions were erratic. I was disconnected from myself. And I was still being told by every doctor that my results looked fine.
What I did not know was that I had been living with black mould in my apartment for nearly seven years.
A naturopath finally ran the tests our healthcare system does not offer. What they found: mould poisoning, a Lyme-related bacterial infection, and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome — a condition where the body cannot properly clear certain biotoxins and remains in a state of chronic immune activation.
I want to be transparent about something that does not get talked about enough. This entire process cost me close to $20,000 out of pocket. No coverage. No support from the healthcare system. I was incredibly fortunate to have people in my life who stepped up. And I am deeply aware that not everyone has that. The financial reality of chronic illness is its own conversation, and it is one I want to keep having inside this community.
August 2023
After the mould treatment, strange symptoms returned. One evening, the entire left side of my body went completely numb. I felt nothing — not a pinch, not a slap, not pressure. The non-emergency line told me to go to the hospital immediately. They thought I was having a stroke.
I was there for two days. One doctor suggested I might need more vitamin D.
It was a vein specialist — someone I had been seeing for painful varicose veins in my left leg — who said something that no one, in over a decade of medical appointments, had ever said to me. He looked at the full picture and said: I think you might have MS.
On August 23, 2023, I got the call. The MRI confirmed it.
"For about three days, I was in a very dark place."
And then something happened. My yoga educator handed me a book — and introduced me to a family member who had been living with MS for years, medication-free, plant-based, healthy, and choosing her own path. On her most recent imaging, one of her lesions was no longer visible. She showed me what my future could look like if I chose it.
I chose it.
Today
Two and a half years since my MS diagnosis. Still medication-free. Still plant-based. Still learning. My most recent MRI: no new lesions. No progression. And one specific lesion — one that had appeared on every single previous scan — is no longer visible.
I found out because I accessed my own medical records and read them myself. My doctor's message was short. Good news, no new lesions, see you next year. He did not mention the disappeared lesion. He did not mention the degenerative disc disease that was also in the report.
"Please access your own records. Read them. You are entitled to know everything that is happening in your own body."
In March of this year, I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia. And suddenly, 15 years of unanswered pain had a name. That pain had been there the whole time. For 15 years, I was living inside a diagnosis that no one ever gave me.
I share this because the journey of chronic illness is not linear. There are still chapters being written for me. I am still navigating. I am still learning. And I have never been more certain that the way we live, what we eat, what we consume — it all matters deeply.
You only have one body. One temple. Treat it like one — and never stop fighting to understand it.
Chronic, unexplained pain that no one could name. Dismissed at every turn. Knee blowout, sports injuries, pushing through.
Suddenly lost vision, looking through water for two days. Told it was probably a migraine. Years later, understood what it really was.
Lived there for nearly 7 years, unknowingly. The health impact would take years to understand.
February 11. Dangerously high T3/T4. Told she would need her thyroid removed. Changed her diet completely. Nine months later, taken off medication entirely. One year later: no longer had Graves disease.
$20,000 in private testing. Mould poisoning, Lyme-related bacterial infection, and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome confirmed. Finally — answers.
Entire left side of body went numb. Dismissed again at hospital. A vein specialist finally said the words: I think you might have MS. MRI confirmed it within a week.
No progression. One lesion no longer visible on imaging. Fibromyalgia also diagnosed — 15 years of unnamed pain finally has a name. Still standing. Still medication-free. Still building.
Self-directed research, thousands of hours of reading, listening, and learning what works in the real world — not just in theory.
Formally certified with a background in education, anatomy, and physiology. Bringing real, evidence-informed education to intimate wellness and chronic illness.
Years of professional experience supporting people with complex, individualized needs — that same philosophy shapes every part of TRAC.
A note on scope: I am not a doctor, registered dietitian, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared at TRAC comes from 15 years of lived experience, ongoing self-directed research, and certified sexual health education. This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your care.
TRAC Wellbeing is a women-only community built around education, real conversation, and the understanding that you know your body better than anyone. Courses, resources, monthly connection, and a space that actually gets it.
I am not a doctor. I am a certified sexual health educator sharing from 15 years of lived experience with chronic illness and ongoing self-directed research. This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider.