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I Was the First Living Kidney Donor with HIV
Read More: I Was the First Living Kidney Donor with HIVAs told to Erica Rimlinger Iโm living with HIV, and Iโm perfectly healthy. That statement would have sounded impossible to my childhood self. When I was 8 years old in 1991, I needed corrective eye surgery, and routine pre-op blood work revealed that I had HIV. It was not routine back then to test children…
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My Melanoma Was Dismissed as an Inflamed Hair Follicle
Read More: My Melanoma Was Dismissed as an Inflamed Hair FollicleAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector When I first noticed the lump on my bikini line, my instincts told me that something wasnโt right, so I promptly made a doctorโs appointment. I was in college at the time, so the campus health center was the place to go. The doctor examined me and assured me…
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Surviving Lung Cancer Helped Me Embrace the Connection Between Body and Mind
Read More: Surviving Lung Cancer Helped Me Embrace the Connection Between Body and MindAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector I started experiencing shortness of breath in my late 20s. I went to several doctors over the years who all listened to my lungs and said they were clear. Eventually, I was diagnosed with asthma. Each healthcare provider prescribed me an inhaler and then sent me on my way.…
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My Endometrial Cancer Was Dismissed as Fibroids
Read More: My Endometrial Cancer Was Dismissed as FibroidsAs told to Erica Rimlinger In 2015, I was newly single, living in Atlanta, taking girls trips and working for a small company as a respiratory therapist when I was thrust into a financial decision that changed my life. The company I worked for decided it no longer needed to provide health insurance benefits for…
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I Use an Ostomy Bag Because of Crohn’s Disease โ And Itโs Actually Not That Big of a Deal
Read More: I Use an Ostomy Bag Because of Crohn’s Disease โ And Itโs Actually Not That Big of a DealAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector It all started back in 2003 when I was 13 years old. I was anemic, falling asleep while sitting up and dangerously skinny despite eating normally. My mom took me to a doctor to get checked out. The doctorโs immediate conclusion? Disordered eating. My mom and I are close…
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Going Blind Has Its Challenges, But Itโs Not as Scary as You May Think
Read More: Going Blind Has Its Challenges, But Itโs Not as Scary as You May ThinkApril is Womenโs Eye Health and Safety Month. As told to Nicole Audrey Spector We were toddlers when our parents noticed something was off. During the day, we were carefree and curious โ identical twin sisters exploring the world and touching everything we could see. But at night, we became shy and cautious of our…
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Rape Is a Lifelong Condition โ But It No Longer Defines Me
Read More: Rape Is a Lifelong Condition โ But It No Longer Defines MeApril is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I was a 22-year-old record label manager with siren-red dyed hair the night I was attacked at knifepoint in front of my New York City apartment door. The stranger bound, blindfolded and brutally raped me for hours. I did not float above my body and watch the events from…
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A Perfect Storm Migraine Attack Revealed the Limits of My โPush Through the Painโ Philosophy
Read More: A Perfect Storm Migraine Attack Revealed the Limits of My โPush Through the Painโ PhilosophyAs told to Erica Rimlinger It was the big day: my first Zoom event at my new job. I woke up with my mind buzzing with details. I set my intention: Iโd create a safe space for everyone in the breakout room I was moderating and the event would be a success. I jumped right…
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Living With Epilepsy Made Me the Confident and Compassionate Woman I Am Today
Read More: Living With Epilepsy Made Me the Confident and Compassionate Woman I Am TodayAs told to Marnie Goodfriend March 26, 2023, is Purple Day, Supporting Epilepsy Around the World. I had my first seizure the summer before eighth grade as I was walking down the hall to take a shower. My parents found me passed out in a towel. I don’t remember it because I had a moment…
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Painting Gave Me a Precious World All My Own While Caregiving for My Husband with Alzheimerโs Disease
Read More: Painting Gave Me a Precious World All My Own While Caregiving for My Husband with Alzheimerโs DiseaseAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector I knew my husband, Bob, had Alzheimerโs disease before anyone else did, including Bob. He was only 65 years old, but he had some of the telltale symptoms, including forgetfulness and absentmindedness, which were highly unusual for him. Bob was whip smart and incredibly high-functioning, a former journalist. But…
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You Canโt Choose Your Genes
Read More: You Canโt Choose Your GenesAs told to Erica Rimlinger I was 41 and had spent a lovely day visiting with my mother at her home in Victoria, Canada. As she said goodnight and closed the guest room door, she lobbed a bomb: โYour brother has cancer. Good night!โ Did she think I could just go to sleep after hearing…
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Caregiving During Covid
Read More: Caregiving During CovidAs told to Shannon Shelton Miller March 3, 2023, is Caregiver Appreciation Day. My mother is 71 and living with dementia. My older sister and I have been her primary caregivers for four years, and Iโm also married with two young children, 7 and 5 years old. Yes, Iโm a member of the sandwich generation…
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After I Tore My ACL, My Sleep Went Downhill
Read More: After I Tore My ACL, My Sleep Went DownhillAs told to Erica Rimlinger March is Sleep Awareness Month. Have you ever counted sheep to fall asleep? My approach was a little different on nights before big races. Iโd shut my eyes and instead of counting sheep, Iโd start counting gates in a race course. Iโd visualize the downhill course from the starting gate…
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Long Covid Ended My Time as a C-Suite Executive, but Iโm Not Giving Up on Life
Read More: Long Covid Ended My Time as a C-Suite Executive, but Iโm Not Giving Up on LifeAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector In December 2021, I was fully vaxxed and boosted against Covid and ready to fully enjoy the holidays for the first time since before the pandemic when I suddenly began feeling ill. Sore throat. Achiness. Headache. Incredible fatigue. This was when the omicron variant was sweeping the nation and…
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Sex Toys Helped Me Discover the Beauty and Pleasure of Self-Love
Read More: Sex Toys Helped Me Discover the Beauty and Pleasure of Self-LoveAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector Growing up, sex wasnโt something that was openly discussed in our home. I learned everything about it from movies and television shows. Then there was sex ed class, of course, which taught that unless a man and woman were married and looking to reproduce, sex was bad, bad, bad.…
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I Got in the Best Shape of My Life After 50
Read More: I Got in the Best Shape of My Life After 50As told to Nicole Audrey Spector I knew Iโd been letting stress get the best of me, particularly when it came to poor eating habits, but I didnโt realize how bad Iโd let things get until my work hosted a wellness event and a nurse visited our offices to check our body mass index (BMI),*…
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Mis sรญntomas de Covid-19 persistente parecรญan ser tristeza cuando perdรญ a mi pareja
Read More: Mis sรญntomas de Covid-19 persistente parecรญan ser tristeza cuando perdรญ a mi parejaTal como lo relataron a Nicole Audrey Spector Cuando me enfermรฉ por primera vez con Covid-19 en enero de 2021, hice lo mรกs que pude para cuidarme, pero fue difรญcil. En ese momento exacto, Richard, mi pareja, con quien mantuve una relaciรณn de 17 aรฑos, acababa de perder a su padre debido a complicaciones de…
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Living With Multiple Sclerosis Means Always Being My Own Advocate
Read More: Living With Multiple Sclerosis Means Always Being My Own AdvocateAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) almost seven years ago, the world nearly stopped for me. For a moment, I envisioned all the worst-case scenarios that MS could bring. I thought of not dancing at my daughtersโ weddings. Of never traveling with my husband again. Of the…
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I Powered Through Anxiety and Climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro
Read More: I Powered Through Anxiety and Climbed Mt. KilimanjaroIt was three days before my flight to Tanzania. I had just arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I would spend the next few days filming Erika Bogan, who is disabled, as she prepared for our journey to the top of Kilimanjaro at 19,341 feet above sea level. After she picked me up from the…
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Iโm Grateful for the Anxiety That Left Me Gasping for Air
Read More: Iโm Grateful for the Anxiety That Left Me Gasping for AirAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector I would wake up crying at 3 a.m. feeling like the ceiling was lowering and the walls were closing in on me. My throat and chest were tight. There was no exit, no escape. My thoughts were racing so fast I expected my head to explode. Iโd always lived…
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For Years, I Lived with Seasonal Affective Disorder, Thinking It Was Just the Winter Blues
Read More: For Years, I Lived with Seasonal Affective Disorder, Thinking It Was Just the Winter BluesAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector Come on, Jules. Get it together. Suck it up. You can do this. Youโre an athlete. Not just any athlete but one specializing in endurance sports. Think about that word. Endurance. You just have to endure this. Thatโs what I kept telling myself when I would wake up in…
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Real women real stories, Sex, Sexually transmitted diseases, Sexually transmitted infections, Stds, Sti
Living With Herpes Has Been a Journey of Self-Acceptance
Read More: Living With Herpes Has Been a Journey of Self-AcceptanceAs told to Kimberly Rex I had my first symptoms on a Sunday in July 2011. I was 28. After a weekend away with the guy I was seeing, I knew something wasnโt right. My genitals were painfully inflamed and blisters seemed to be forming. I immediately thought it could be herpes but never believed…
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I Got Stage 3 Lung Cancer for Christmas
Read More: I Got Stage 3 Lung Cancer for ChristmasAs told to Erica Rimlinger After two seasons of exhaustion with wheezing that was coming and going, I finally sat in my doctorโs office looking at an X-ray of my lungs. The doctor said it was pneumonia. I looked closely at the black-and-white screen. In the middle of my left lung sat a blob, a…
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Hormone Therapy Saved My Life After Doctors Dismissed My Perimenopause Symptoms
Read More: Hormone Therapy Saved My Life After Doctors Dismissed My Perimenopause SymptomsAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector I was 36 years old when a light switched off inside me. Iโd always been a motivated self-starter โ someone who got up early in the morning to get a run in before starting the day I genuinely looked forward to. But suddenly I was no longer that person.…
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I Didnโt Find Out I Had Epilepsy Until I Was 28, But Iโve Likely Had It My Whole Life
Read More: I Didnโt Find Out I Had Epilepsy Until I Was 28, But Iโve Likely Had It My Whole LifeAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. It happened while I was sleeping. I woke up to my then-husband, Duane, sobbing over me in bed. I snapped back into consciousness. โWhat are you doing, crying?โ I asked. Duane was not one to break down in tears. โYou were having a…
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For Years, I Lived in Agony with Undiagnosed Celiac Disease
Read More: For Years, I Lived in Agony with Undiagnosed Celiac DiseaseAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector Iโd always gotten bad stomach aches โ but this one was even worse. I was 16 or 17, and on a trip with my dance team. Once we got to the hotel after a long bus ride, I collapsed on the bed, completely frozen by the pain in my…
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An Ordinary Toothache Turned Out to Be a Rare Form of Cancer
Read More: An Ordinary Toothache Turned Out to Be a Rare Form of CancerAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector It started with a bad toothache โ deep and throbbing in one of my molars on the upper-right side. I was only 25 years old and totally healthy. How bad could it be? At worst, I probably needed a root canal. I went to the dentist right away. She…
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The Truth About Working While Struggling with Perimenopause
Read More: The Truth About Working While Struggling with PerimenopauseOctober 18 is World Menopause Day. I began to forget words. Not complicated or unusual words, just everyday words. One afternoon I was driving with my son, and in the middle of our conversation, I forgot the word โflower.โ I laughed it off, saying I was tired and needed more sleep, and I did because…
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I Went Through Menopause Early to Prevent My Cancer from Coming Back
Read More: I Went Through Menopause Early to Prevent My Cancer from Coming BackAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector I am tempted to tell you why I should have found out sooner, but the truth is I had no idea that I should suspect something was wrong. I was still breastfeeding my daughter, so when I felt the hard lump in my right breast, I figured it was…
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Living with ADHD Has Taught Me How to Be Perfectly Imperfect
Read More: Living with ADHD Has Taught Me How to Be Perfectly ImperfectAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector October is ADHD Awareness Month. Growing up, I was always praised for my intelligence. I went to a magnet school for the gifted and attended a top public university in Florida. So imagine my surprise when, a couple years ago, in my mid-30s and being the ultimate career woman…
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cancer, Cancer survivor, Endometrial cancer, Gynecological cancer, Real women real stories, Uterine cancer
I Was on High Alert for Cancer, but not Endometrial Cancer
Read More: I Was on High Alert for Cancer, but not Endometrial CancerAs told to Erica Rimlinger Families share a lot of things. Memories. Homes. Joy. Pain. In our family, we share one more thing: a genetic mutation that increases the risk for several kinds of cancer. My motherโs family always had cancer running through it, and my grandmother fought many types of cancer over four decades…
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Asking for Support Helps Me Heal
Read More: Asking for Support Helps Me HealAs told to Marnie Goodfriend Up until 2016, I was an active and healthy 42-year-old woman who biked, swam, kayaked, practiced yoga, and followed a strict paleo and organic diet. As a mother to four boys and a nurse, my daily planner was packed with work, family and friend time, church and community activities. There…
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Caring for Caregivers During Cancer Treatment Is Important, Too
Read More: Caring for Caregivers During Cancer Treatment Is Important, TooAs told to Liz Sauchelli When someone gets sick, the instinct of their social circle is to help. โWhat can I do?โ people ask. โWhat do you need?โ These questions, while well-intentioned, can sometimes be a little overwhelming. Thatโs the position I found myself in in 2012 when my mother-in-lawโs breast cancer came back. My…
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I Wish Iโd Known About the Shingles Vaccine Sooner
Read More: I Wish Iโd Known About the Shingles Vaccine SoonerAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector I was overdue for a vacation. Working five to six days a week for 15 months straight as a public health nurse responding to the needs of Covid-19 patients was the most fulfilling work of my career. But it was also stressful. Even I โ someone who feels her…
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My Journey With Long Covid Symptoms
Read More: My Journey With Long Covid SymptomsAs told to Shannon Shelton Miller In January 2021, I tested positive for Covid soon after I got my first vaccine dose, but before it had a chance to build up my immunity. I temporarily lost my sense of taste and smell, but my other symptoms were mostly mild, and I felt better after two…
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HIV, Hivaids, Real women real stories, Sexually transmitted diseases, Sexually transmitted infections, Stds, Sti
I Donโt Regret Getting HIV Because It Saved My Life
Read More: I Donโt Regret Getting HIV Because It Saved My LifeAs told to Aviva Patz September 18, 2022, is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day. Itโs hard to believe that HIV could be a blessing, but for me, it was. Thatโs because it gave me a chance to change my life. After having been sexually abused by my uncle and emotionally abused by my father,…
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Las mujeres de raza negra a menudo sufren en silencio durante la menopausia. Yo voy a seguir hablando.
Read More: Las mujeres de raza negra a menudo sufren en silencio durante la menopausia. Yo voy a seguir hablando.Relato de Shannon Shelton Miller Antes del 2020, la menopausia era una de esas etapas de la vida de las que realmente no sabรญa nada. Lo รบnico que escuchรฉ decir a mi madre al respecto fue, “me estoy sofocando”. Nunca escuchรฉ a mis abuelas hablar sobre la menopausia. Mi experiencia no es รบnica. Puesto que…
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Planned Parenthood Saved Me From Cervical Cancer
Read More: Planned Parenthood Saved Me From Cervical CancerAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector Growing up as the child of a Mexican, Catholic mother and a Palestinian, Muslim father, I lived by my parentsโ two strict rules: You donโt talk about sex. You donโt even think about having sex until youโre married. I followed the first rule so carefully, for so long. The…
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healthy aging, HIV, Hivaids, Real women real stories, Sexually transmitted diseases, Sexually transmitted infections, Stds, Sti
I Believe Iโm Aging Faster Because I Have HIV
Read More: I Believe Iโm Aging Faster Because I Have HIVAs told to Erica Rimlinger In 1985, I read magazine articles about a new, medical mass murderer: Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. It sounded awful but had nothing to do with my life. From everything Iโd read and seen on TV, this newly discovered condition afflicted gay men and drug users. That wasnโt me. I…
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Black Women Often Suffer in Silence During Menopause. Iโm Going to Keep Talking.
Read More: Black Women Often Suffer in Silence During Menopause. Iโm Going to Keep Talking.As told to Shannon Shelton Miller Before 2020, menopause was one of those lifestages I really knew nothing about. The most I heard my mother say about it was, โI’m having a flash.โ I never heard my grandmothers talk about menopause at all. My experience isnโt unique. As a hairstylist, I meet women every day…
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Real women real stories, Sex, Sexually transmitted diseases, Sexually transmitted infections, Stds, Sti
I Thought Someone Like Me Could Never Get an STI
Read More: I Thought Someone Like Me Could Never Get an STIAs told to Kimberly Rex I had my first symptoms on a Sunday in July 2011. I was 28. After a weekend away with the guy I was seeing, I knew something wasnโt right. My genitals were painfully inflamed and blisters seemed to be forming. I immediately thought it could be herpes but never believed…
