#BreakTheStigma: Because We’re More Than Our Diagnoses

If there’s one thing life has taught me—besides “don’t let a neurosurgeon gaslight you”—it’s this: people love to underestimate what they don’t understand. Especially when it comes to brains, shunts, scars, diagnoses, or anything that doesn’t fit neatly into the “normal” box.

For years, I let the world’s assumptions talk louder than my own voice. You look fine. You’re too young for that. Are you sure it’s that bad? (And my personal favorite: “You probably just need to drink more water.”)

Meanwhile, I was juggling hydrocephalus, Chiari, epilepsy, a handful of brain surgeries, a full-on identity crisis, and still trying to show up as a mom, a marketer, a creator, a hiker, a human. I had my whole world flipped upside down—literally immobile in 2019, learning to walk again, raising my son while trying to remember who I was before my shunt tried to take me out.

But here’s the plot twist Life did not expect…I got back up. And I stayed up. And I came back louder.

My journey is messy and wild and sometimes hilarious (in a dark humor kind of way), but it taught me something huge:

Having a brain condition doesn’t make us less capable. It makes us unstoppable.

People think “disabled” means “unable,” but they forget that we—yes, we—are out here working careers, raising kids, hiking mountains, building websites, streaming on Twitch, laughing, crying, thriving, and doing all the things neurotypical people do… while also monitoring shunts, advocating for ourselves, and surviving pain levels they couldn’t spell.

Our stories look different, but our resilience? Same energy.

It’s time the world understands that intelligence isn’t measured by MRI results. Ability isn’t defined by medical devices. Worth isn’t tied to a label.

We are not broken. We are built different. And our differences are powerful.

If you’re reading this and living with hydrocephalus, epilepsy, Chiari, ADHD, autism, a disability, or any neuro-spicy diagnosis—hey, you belong here. I see you. I get you. And I know what it’s like to feel misunderstood in a world obsessed with pretending everything is “fine.”

But we don’t have to play small to make others comfortable.

We don’t have to hide our symptoms, our scars, or our struggles. We don’t have to apologize for needing accommodations. We don’t have to shrink ourselves down into whatever shape the world expects us to be.

Not anymore.

This blog is my space—our space—to rewrite that narrative. To show the good, the bad, the hilarious, the chaotic, and the victorious moments of living life with a shunt and a few extra plot twists.

It’s where we remind each other that:

• We are smart.

• We are strong.

• We are worthy.

• And we damn sure are capable.
  

So, here’s my take: let’s Break the Stigma TOGETHER.

Your story matters. Your voice matters. And someone out there needs to hear exactly what you’ve lived through to feel less alone.

Share your story with me. Let’s amplify it on YouTube, on this blog, wherever it needs to be heard. Hell...let's start a podcast. Because awareness doesn’t grow from silence—it grows from us showing up exactly as we are.

We rise. We adapt. We thrive. And the world better get ready, because we’re not done yet.

#BreakTheStigma