Before rheumatoid arthritis changed my life, I knew exactly who I was. I was an athlete who trusted her body to show up when she asked it to. I earned a full basketball scholarship to Bryant University, served as team captain, and finished my college career with 1,398 points as the fifth all-time leading scorer. After college, I traded the basketball court for the road, running marathons and running the Boston Marathon two consecutive years.
Then my body began rewriting the story I had always known.
Living with rheumatoid arthritis for nearly 2 decades, undergoing two hand surgeries and having a total knee replacement at 45 forced me to confront a question I never expected to ask: Who are you when you can no longer do the things that once defined you?
As a wife and mother of two daughters, I have navigated the complicated reality of raising a family while living with a chronic illness that doesn't always cooperate with the life I want to live. My journey has taught me that resilience isn't always about pushing harder or getting back to who you used to be. Sometimes, it's about learning to redefine strength, find purpose in a different season and make room for a new version of yourself.
I founded The Autoimmune Mom Podcast to create a space where mothers living with autoimmune disease can feel understood, hear honest stories and recognize that a diagnosis does not get to write the entire story of their lives.
Today, I am building my work as a speaker and storyteller around identity, resilience, motherhood, chronic illness and the unexpected process of rebuilding a life when the one you planned changes. My goal is to help women feel less alone and see that even when life looks different than they imagined, there is still room for connection, purpose and possibility.
I also work in real estate in the Charleston, South Carolina, area, where I live with my husband and our two daughters.