My Illness Made Me Feel Like a Freak: Why I’m Done Trying to Be “Normal”

For the last twelve years of being sick, I’ve been embarrassed by all of the ways my disease makes me “different” from everyone else.  I may try to fit in, but I’m always waiting for the moment when people discover the truth about me.

From not being able to attend public high school, to going to therapy and appointments instead of hanging out with friends, to living with OCD and chronic pain, my experiences as a person with PANS and Lyme have isolated me from my peers when all I wanted was to be “normal” and feel accepted.  Continue reading “My Illness Made Me Feel Like a Freak: Why I’m Done Trying to Be “Normal””

On the Radio Today! A Special for PANS Awareness Day 2018

Today is PANS Awareness Day 2018.  There’s so much I could write as someone who has lived with PANS for most of my lifeeven more than I’ve already said in the 100,000+ words I’ve written in previous posts on this blog.

However, I’m doing things differently this year, and instead of posting about PANS awareness, I’m going to speak on national talk radio.  I’ll be interviewed on Worcester, Massachusetts’s John DiPietro show along with some New England PANS Association board members and a PANS parent. Continue reading “On the Radio Today! A Special for PANS Awareness Day 2018”