My path has been anything but “normal”

I actually started my career in the “family trade” of construction management. I graduated from Purdue University and worked for a company that built dams, pipelines, and transmission lines until I was hit with a Lupus diagnosis at age 22. Because of the stressful nature of the work, I quickly left the industry. I was not just left with finding a new career, but also reassembling my health.

Now… this wasn’t my first illness. As with many “chronic and complex” cases, it’d been a steady decline into dysfunction: an IBD diagnosis at age 11, delayed puberty, a list of food intolerances and allergies through my teens, loss of menses and extreme hypothyroidism, eating disorders, and finally: lupus and mast cell activation. That’s quite a list for someone, huh? As you can imagine, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired!

The quest to regain health can push someone to some extremes. With the motivation to feel better and with support from my mother, I returned to school to become a nutritional therapist. Over the course of several years, I’ve regained my health and have since continued my education. Given my own adversities, I have come to specialize in seeing clients with chronic and complex illnesses… but that isn’t all my shortcomings have brought me!

I’ve always loved to write and have found that I have a talent for mixing words with science. To make something thoughtful and complex—or something that is “digestible”—for someone struggling to conceptualize body function is something so fulfilling for me. It’s important to understand why you’re sick and how you can make it better. Right? With that being said, I’ve taken to mixing my skills in writing, communication, and research into the copywriting sector. I now offer services to write and edit for others.

Currently, I’m pursuing a medical degree (MD) at the University of Split School of Medicine (USSM) in Split, Croatia. I hope to continue my career in research and helping those with mysterious maladies. While I have changed career paths, the “problem solving” aspect has surely stuck with me :)