Hey Y'all

I'm Jane. Well, mostly.

My legal name is something memes are made of, and while I'm sharing my journey, I'm not special or more worthy of the spotlight than anyone else. Millions of women have, or will, find themselves faced with life-changing condition. I want to speak to them as a kindred soul.

I want my evolution to resonate with all women-- those that find themselves facing health challenges, who are going through a major life changes (whether chronic illness or otherwise), or who woke up one morning and thought "How the hell did I end up with this life? And how can I go about creating a better life?"

Jane was my sweet and sassy Grandmother (MeMa) and who kept her humor during her own degenerative disease fight. Also, Jane was the generic little girl in the early reader "Dick and Jane" books (See Jane Play... See Jane Read), so I thought adopting the moniker of Jane would be very fitting the purposes of this new adventure.

So I'm Jane. You are Jane. Let's unite under our common struggles and be Jane's together. Think if it as being the anti-Karen, if you will.

You in?

My Story

The eve of my fortieth birthday was a pivotal moment in my life, though I didn't know it at the time.

I didn't know a lot of things then. Like, that I was about to embark on the worst miscarriage of my life (yes, I've had several) or that I'd catch a virus a few months later after barely recovering physically from eight weeks of my uterus trying to yeet itself out of existence.

I didn't know that my body would decide right then that it'd had enough and would start glitching like a virus-infected laptop. I didn't know that I was about to embark on the worst game of Scavenger Hunt of my life as I collected one weird-ass medical diagnosis after another, most carrying issues I'll cope with the rest of my life.

These include:

POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
Chiari Malformation
Raynaud's Phenomenon
Gastroparesis
A pretty severe sleep disorder
Chronic Migraines (requiring quarterly BOTOX injection treatments)
Chronic Joint paint, Fibromyalgia
Bilateral Carpal Tunnel & Cubital Tunnel syndromes
Severe Environmental Allergies
Degenerative Disc Disease: C-Spine & Lumbar spine.
Osteopenia
Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (awaiting genetic testing confirmation)
ADHD (finally caught at 45!)
Multiple surgeries: hysterectomy, sinus surgery, both wrists, Ovarian torsion lap.

I didn't know this was going to become my life so suddenly and I found myself confused, frustrated, gas-lit and dejected. I thought my life was essentially over, and all that was left was to dig a hole in the back yard and get it. But I was wrong. Sometimes a blank slate is needed to redesign your life from scratch.

At the time, I thought I was alone, but I wasn't and you aren't either. Together, we can get back up no matter how many times we fall. You just have to decide to rise one more time. Each time.

So what are you waiting for?

Rise, Jane.