I was always a person with a specific idea of success.

I pushed myself in all my classes, in extracurriculars, and at home.

My belief system that I had built around me told me that if I wasn’t trying to be the best at everything, then I wasn’t trying at all.

I had such impossible expectations for how I looked on paper, that my physical health had begun to take a toll.

The year before I left for college was when everything began to unravel.

With a loss in the family, graduating high school, and the oncoming stress of college, I was no longer taking care of myself as my body started to become sick.

Arriving at college, my body became much sicker.

It was so easy to simply measure it up to anxiety, or the new harsh and competitive environment my body had been thrown into; as well as listening to the doctors who were telling me the same.

One month into school I got a sinus infection. Two weeks later I got covid, only to get covid again only 3 months later.

In between was a never ending spiral of doctors appointments, missed classes, days filled with misery, sleep, and doctors appointments.

Throughout this time I was also diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and ADHD.

My roommate and I were both suspicious of mold in the room.

After multiple tests came back positive for mold, we sent in a formal complaint with the school. 

Christmas break I hoped would be enough to recharge me and begin with a fresh determination. But as time passed, I only felt sicker.

The pain had worsened to the point I knew I would not survive another quarter.

I felt a part of myself die that day I decided not to return.

I felt that in a way I had failed.

Like I had failed college, my classes, but even more I felt i had failed myself. 

 In late January 2022 I spent the night in the ER after having covid for the second time and being debilitated constantly.

What happened that night was something I look back on as traumatic as they dismissed my symptoms as anxiety… and tried to move me into a mental facility.

I felt unheard, abandoned, and broken when they dismissed me without any answers.

After that I spent the rest of my time at home trying to recover both physically and mentally.

Being at home for this year was lonely and empty.

I’ve always loved school – I love the idea of going to class and learning new things and challenging myself.

I wanted to be at school with my friends, taking classes and making progress.

Instead I spent most of my time in bed.

I grew sicker and sicker, going to doctor after doctor.

I spent my year on the living room couch, unable to do simple things such as be outside, make my own meals, and operate how I once did. 

After 8 months of doctors appointments, we found answers last fall.

I was diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory response syndrome. (CIRS) A biotoxin illness caused by environmental toxins, such as the mold that grew in my dorm room. I have spent the past 6 months detoxing, recovering, and trying to heal.

Things change when people find themselves immersed in the unstable world of chronic illness.

The quality of my life changed dramatically as I struggled this year. It opened my eyes to the boundless resources that lie hidden, deep inside each of us.

My idea of success was once something reflected on a piece of paper, but now I realize it is so much more.

I am stronger than I realized, more capable than I ever knew, more creatively resourceful than I ever imagined, become a more compassionate individual, and I have become more inspired to become a light for someone’s darkness. 

Beyond all that, I am also re-learning things I’ve learned in the past. I’m learning how to be a good friend, sister, and daughter.

I am learning I am the sum of my past but also my current actions and my goals for the future. Every stage in my life, every door that has opened or closed has taught me something that has made me the woman I am today, and whether you know what happened to me behind that door or not, it shaped my life forever. For as Kaci Diane one said;

“I love the person I’ve become, because I fought to become her.”

#CIRS #ChronicIllness #InvisibleIllness #mold #biotoxin #biotoxinillness