I was diagnosed with type 1 Gaucher Disease at the age of 20, one month before my senior year at Penn State University. I was fortunate to be referred to a specialist immediately and to begin treatment, which consisted of biweekly infusions of enzyme replacement therapy. Unfortunately, because the disease had been unknowingly active long before age 20, I continued to have significant medical issues for the next decade. These issues interfered with life at every level, including work, family, and social life.
During this period I sought out psychological support as someone living with a chronic medical condition and began educating myself as much as possible through my own research. It is difficult to understate the impact of learning that my depression, anxiety, and trauma were normal, and that I was not alone. When my health began to improve in my late 20s, these experiences inspired my passion to return to school at 33 and complete a doctor in Clinical Health health Psychology. It has been an honor to now help others work through the mental health challenges that accompany chronic medical illness, and especially rare disease, for the past 15 years. Where mental health is our next frontier.
