“I was diagnosed with gastroparesis and intestinal dysmotility as well as vascular compressions (nutcracker syndrome and SMA syndrome).

For 4 years I was in debilitating pain, malnourished & extremely weak where I was almost completely bedbound. I was nauseous constantly, vomiting up to 30x a day as my stomach was so severely paralyzed it couldn’t even drain my stomach fluid.

This also meant I wasn’t able to eat or drink anything for two years. I relied on TPN to keep me alive. TPN is artificial nutrition delivered straight into the bloodstream via a Hickman line (the line you can see in my chest!).

In June 2019, I had life-changing surgery that gave me so much of my life back which is where my scars come from.”