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Held Together by What We’ve Survived
Every scar tells a story worth sharing . Life and advocacy really is like a rubber band ball. Each band is something you’ve lived...
Jun 24, 20252 min read
The Letters I Wrote When I Thought I Was Dying
How hospice taught me to leave a legacy and live one too. When I was in hospice, everything changed. Not just physically, but...
Jun 12, 20252 min read
Left at the Door: The Burden of Caregiving During COVID
How Pandemic Policy Redefined the Role of Family Caregivers I want to talk about a group of people who rarely get the spotlight but...
Jun 11, 20253 min read
This Is What Life After Hospice Looks Like
Advocacy wasn’t the plan—but it became my purpose. Advocacy is deeply personal for me. I’m a two-year hospice survivor living with...
May 28, 20253 min read
💬 Dear Doctors: Stop Telling Women It’s Just Anxiety
Because I almost died from the thing you said was in my head. Let’s talk about the elephant in the exam room.You know the one—where...
May 27, 20253 min read
Two Diagnoses, One Fight: How We Held Each Other Through the Storm
Caregiver and patient. Wife and husband. Fighter and fighter. Some love stories are sweet. Ours is survival. There was a moment—maybe...
May 22, 20252 min read
Real Talk: Building My Second Chance Took a Village
I talk a lot about second chances—because I’m living proof they exist. But the facts are, I didn’t get here on grit alone. It took a...
May 19, 20252 min read
The Interview Every Patient Deserves
Questions Every Doctor Should Be Asked—Before You Trust Them With Your Care I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been let down by a...
May 15, 20254 min read
From Barely Breathing to Truly Living — Why I Won’t Stay Quiet About TVR
Why am I talking about Tricuspid Valve Regurgitation (TVR)? Because talking about it creates change.Because sharing our stories makes...
May 14, 20252 min read
🩺 The Truth About Life After Hospice: Surviving Isn’t the Same as Healing
Some stories don’t end. They evolve—with every scar, every stumble, and every ounce of strength it takes to keep going. t’s strange what...
May 13, 20253 min read
From Hospice to the Hill: Why I’m Honored to Join CLA by PACH
📍 Washington, D.C. | June 7–9, 2025 ✉️ Hosted by the Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health (PACH) I’ve learned that life after...
May 8, 20252 min read
📰 From Bellingham to Australia AGAIN: My Story Travels
My Heart Story, Their Health Policy Living with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) isn’t just challenging—it’s exhausting, isolating,...
May 7, 20252 min read
Well, Here We Go Again… Aflutter’s Back
Just when I thought I could finally hit cruise control for a bit, atrial flutter decided to make a comeback. If you’re not familiar,...
May 6, 20252 min read
The Heart Surgery I Couldn’t Have – And the One That Saved Me ❤️🩹🥑
When traditional surgery failed me, innovation gave me a second chance I’ve always known I wasn’t a candidate for open-heart surgery. My...
May 1, 20253 min read
✨ When the World Shut Down, My Fight BeganSurviving Hospice in the Time of COVID
Facebook Memory April 2020 | UW Regional Heart Center This popped up today, and I felt it in my bones.April 2020, UW Medical Center. I...
Apr 30, 20251 min read
I Just Wanted to Survive — How Surviving Turned Into a Mission
I Had No Idea My Story Would Matter This Much I didn’t choose to become a patient pioneer out of bravery. I said yes to a clinical trial...
Apr 24, 20252 min read
365 Days of Saying the Hard Stuff Out Loud
“ From Get Your Affairs in Order” to “Keep Telling Your Story” One year ago today, I started writing about something most people don’t...
Apr 23, 20252 min read
Something Big is Coming… Are You Ready?
I’ve been keeping a little secret. For the past few months, I’ve been working on something that means a lot to me—something real,...
Feb 25, 20251 min read
"If no one else was telling their story, then maybe I needed to tell mine. And maybe, just maybe, that would give others permission to share theirs too."
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