Welcome!!

Welcome to Hope For Wellness!!
Finding Strength From Within

Thank you for visiting Hope for Wellness. My intention is to share all that I have learned through my journey of battling chronic illness with you. I lived for over four years of fighting chronic health problems that left me undiagnosed and in living in chronic pain. I invite you to READ and SHARE my story with the hope that one day I will overcome this condition I suffer from and will regain the ability to live my life again. I hope to reach as many people as possible with my story to inspire others to find to discover a healthier and happy lifestyle.

Whether you have a specific goal for yourself, are looking to improve your overall health, well being or another area of your life, or if you are living with chronic illness yourself, I invite you to follow my Hope For Wellness blog. I plan to share any and everything wellness related -- recipes, yoga, pain management and meditation, alignment and body awareness, and much much more! I will also share any progress or updates on my condition.

I strive to assert my suffering in a positive direction to have a positive impact on others' lives, especially those living with chronic illness, chronic pain, or undiagnosed conditions.

Visit the "About Me" page to get to know more about me and be sure to read "My Story" to learn more about the journey I have endured.

The End of My Road at Hopkins

The worst is over now and only good times lie ahead....

The end of my stay at Hopkins came at the end of October 2015. During my last two weeks at Hopkins I got to come home for a weekend, and then for 5 days, to start the transition back home. The program does this to ensure you can maintain your weight on your own. That was not a problem for me! But I was ready to be able to eat a normal amount of food! 

Before I came home from Hopkins, I got to go out to eat with Kenny to an Italian restaurant in Little Italy, eat delicious Italian pastries, go shopping for a day at the Inner Harbor with my Mom, and again with Ashley! It felt wonderful to start doing normal things again! 

Best of all, I got to see my saving grace GI doctor from Hopkins before I came home. My Mom came down with me to see him. He was beyond impressed with my progress in the program. He was thrilled to hear that I was back to a healthy weight any my body was tolerating food again. He even explained that the SVT episodes of my heart were happening as a part of the re-feeding process. He gave me hope from the very first time I saw him and when I thanked him for saving my life he told me, "YOU are the one who did all the hard work, I can't take credit for it." Best of all, he agreed to see me every 3 months for the first year and that he'd still see me even though my insurance wouldn't cover it.  I left that appointment that day feeling like all of my prayers had finally been answered.

I was discharged on 3000 calories. My calories were only lowered to this one week before I was discharged. It's different for everyone, but I STILL was not at the weight they wanted me at after a month of 4000 calories a day. 

 

I followed the 3000 calorie plan as I transitioned home and then my cardiologist and primary doctor watched me gain 4 more lbs the first month I was home, so my calories FINALLY went down to normal,  2000 which is maintenance. There may come a day where if I am dancing 20+ hours a week my body will need 3000 to function, but right now as my body continues to heal, I am on 2000. 

Upon coming home, I was still very fatigued. I didn't push myself to jump back into anything too soon. I had been extremely fatigued through this whole process: being direly underweight, putting back on the weight, and now starting to live life again.  

Although my journey at Hopkins was coming to a close, I knew this was in no way the end of the road. This was the first big step of my recovery, but my body still had a long way to go before I was back to 100%. I made it a point to remind myself of how far I have come and how much I improved in two months through this first step of recovery. I knew it would take time to be able to do all the things I used to do, and wanted to resume, but I reminded myself my body was still healing, so I listened to my body when it told me it was time to nap or rest I did. I didn't push myself past what I felt I could handle, and I knew that was what was best for my body.