Story written by Marylyn Abrego, edited by Hannah Darnell, RN—8/24/2026

My initial reaction was fear of the unknown and what was silently happening with my body, while unaware of how long the disease would affect me, and what it all meant. More so, I was glad that someone finally listened to me after all these years of me begging several doctors to hear me and do a test but they did nothing. I was scared of what it all meant—as there were several diagnoses given to me at one time.

I was relieved that I finally had answers about the prolonged symptoms. I was worried about how this would impact my daily duties, and what changes I could do immediately to improve my health. A few other concerns