My Journey – All About Me

Hi there. I’m Jodie Foster. Not the famous actress Jodie Foster – although she seems pretty fabulous too from all accounts that I’ve seen. This is my very first blog post. Ever. In my entire life. So please be kind and patient with me. And follow – Please!

I am a mom. I have 2 kids. My awesome teen has ADHD and depression but is also super smart and kind and helpful and so many other great things. My youngest has ADHD and anxiety and she is a bundle of energy and creativity and fun and hugs and all the feelings. I love them dearly.

I am a wife. We’ve been married for over 20 years now. And I would go back and do it all over again. I won’t share his personal struggles or diagnoses. I will just say that we’ve had the best of times and the worst of times and have been through much trauma together and also separately. He is my very best friend.

I am a therapist. I have worked in mental health for over 20 years now. I have my own counseling practice working with children, teens, adults, and families. And I think I have the very best job in the entire world. I am a helper by nature, and I’m passionate about mental health, helping people through hard things, and helping people see the best in themselves.

I also have multiple chronic autoimmune illnesses. Vitiligo was my first autoimmune diagnosis. My body is attacking my skin pigmentation. I have no pigment left on my hands, multiple parts of my face, and parts of my arms and legs. It’s a really big struggle for many people, so it certainly should never be minimized. But because I have always had very light skin and trouble tanning, mine is mostly unnoticeable to others. And other than frequent skin checks for cancer, lots of sunscreen, and staying in the shade as much as possible it has minimally impacted my life.

Psoriasis was my second. My body is attacking my skin and causing it to make new skin too quickly and unnecessarily. This causes scaly skin patches on my hands and scalp and sometimes my face and legs. It can be pretty gross looking- my toenails especially. In middle school I was bullied severely for visible flakes on my scalp. I didn’t know what it was at the time. But I do remember sitting alone in the school cafeteria because no one wanted to eat with me. Now I have a name for it – which is actually very therapeutic and empowering. I would have a lot to say now to those bullies.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), my 3^rd autoimmune disease, has by far been the first one to change my life. My body is attacking my joints, tendons, eyes, etc. Mine is severe and impacts almost all my joints and tendons. The most painful places for me are my si joints, my back, my shoulders, my neck, and my feet. But my knees, elbows, hands, etc. etc. are also quite painful at times. And the pain only gets worse when my restless legs (another nonautoimmune chronic illness) is acting up. PsA also causes me a lot of mobility issues. If you were to see me in real life I would probably be using my arm crutch or rollator to get around. Recently I’ve added a wheelchair to the mix for really bad days. I’ll definitely write at some point about how mobility devices have been so very empowering for me.

And then there’s ulcerative colitis (UC) – my 4^th autoimmune disease. This one attacks my colon, rectal area, and other adjoining parts of my digestive system. It creates painful ulcers, lots of inflammation, painful abdominal cramps, and lots of diarrhea. I’ve grown quite comfortable over the last year or so talking about poop and other taboo topics. But seriously I almost died during my first severe flare, and only because of my primary care physician’s persistent office staff was I able to see a GI specialist quickly and have my life saved with prednisone. I’ll probably write a post at some point about my horrendous and entirely unhelpful ER visit.

My goal with this blog is to talk about my journey through chronic illness and mental health and parenting and marriage. I love to put into words the things that others experience but don’t know how to talk about. Or those things that others don’t feel comfortable sharing. I hope it helps people to feel less alone and also creates a safe place to talk about the hard things that can’t be talked about or are hard to talk about elsewhere. I will try to write as consistently as my chronic health issues will allow. Please be patient with me. Safe places are often few and far between for many, and it’s my life’s passion to provide that for others. Thanks so much for visiting!