Yes, I’m a board-certified nurse practitioner, but my deepest source of expertise? I’ve been the patient, too.

In fact, I’ve been learning about medicine firsthand for as long as I can remember.

I was born having seizures. As a young child, I broke bones and needed knee surgery. Middle and late childhood brought the onset of migraines and a few more fractures. I struggled with digestion and was often constipated.

In young adulthood, my chronic low back pain began — herniated discs, endless specialists, and trial after trial of treatments. Through college and my 20s, I battled frequent sinus infections, treated with antibiotics every single time. Migraines persisted. IBS persisted. Bones kept breaking. An early diagnosis of osteopenia joined the list.

My back is still a lifelong work in progress, but I’ve found my “secret sauce” to keeping it stable and mostly out of flares. I was blessed with two healthy pregnancies and deliveries — but my second birth came with serious postpartum complications: a significant hemorrhage, multiple transfusions, a poorly managed infection, and a surgery that led to three years of ongoing issues.

I went straight from two geriatric pregnancies into perimenopause. At first, I didn’t realize it — my early symptoms were drowned out by sleepless nights, newborn chaos, and recovery from complications. My “fourth trimester” seamlessly bled into early perimenopause. I remember thinking I was losing my mind. Then, once my cycle returned — more than a year and a half after my youngest was born — I started connecting the dots. It wasn’t madness. It was the very classic, very sudden rage that appeared like clockwork two days before my period.

Fast forward to COVID. New neurological symptoms appeared. After an exhaustive cardiac and neurology workup, the verdict was… a shrug. Likely a variant of my migraines, they said. Looking back, I now believe it was part of my perimenopause journey.

Most recently, I suffered a spontaneous vertebral artery dissection, likely linked to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

Through each chapter of symptoms and diagnoses, I learned how to spot my triggers earlier and earlier. I discovered daily habits and lifestyle changes that made a difference. And while I focus on holistic approaches, I also learned to appreciate the role of Western medicine. I needed those workups — the colonoscopy at 31, the MRIs and CT scans, the EEG, the angiogram — to rule out serious issues. I needed some medications, too. The SSRI that eased my anxiety, depression, and IBS. The toradol injection, the muscle relaxants, the prednisone, the Excedrin.

While I prefer to minimize medications and help my patients do the same, I’ve experienced firsthand their value when used wisely.

Somewhere along the way, I had a thought that changed everything:

If I can recognize and piece together my own symptoms, maybe I can help others do the same in their own bodies.

And that’s exactly why I’m here.

I know what it’s like to feel dismissed, misdiagnosed, or unsure of what’s happening inside your own body. I also know the relief of finally finding answers — and the transformation that’s possible when you combine the best of modern medicine with a deeply personal, holistic approach.

My work is rooted in the belief that you deserve to be heard, understood, and guided toward feeling your best — in a way that makes sense for you.

If you’re ready to start connecting the dots in your own health story, I’m here to help you do just that.