At just 23 years

At just 23 years old, I was diagnosed with a chronic auto-immune disease called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Simply put, my own immune system launches a full-on attack againsg my healthy tissues and organs. When I fell ill, I was in graduate school and instead of spending my summer with friends, and proving myself on my graduate internship, I spent my summer in and out of several emergency rooms between Milwaukee and Chicago. After spending over 30 days in the hospital, having 2 heart surgeries, a collapsed lung, and barely surviving my early 20s, I finally received my diagnosis.