I’m Mary Kate, and I hated feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Months after the birth of my second child, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease; an inflammatory bowel disease that, like all autoimmune diseases, has no cure. The years that followed my initial diagnosis were filled with numerous failed medical interventions, severe complications, and ultimately, the surgical removal of parts of my small and large intestines deemed “too damaged” to ever recover.
Under the care of different gastroenterologists over the years, my prognosis was always the same:
“This is only the first of many surgeries you’ll have.”
“You need to be on these immune-modulating medications, or you’ll end up worse than you are now.”
“The benefits (of the drugs) outweigh the risks (ie: cancer).”
“Once you start this medication you cannot stop.”
“There’s nothing else you can do, because your immune system is malfunctioning.”
Perhaps you relate? Maybe you’ve been told the same things?
You aren’t alone. You aren’t broken.
My earnest hope here is that you’ll find the confidence to trust the small voice inside of you that refuses to accept the finality of these prognoses. I hope you uncover the will and firm resolve within to advocate for better when it comes to your health. I hope you know that the rock and the hard place aren’t where you succumb to a bitter fate, but where desperation fuels your breakthrough.
It’s time to not feel trapped by the story you never wanted to live.