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At Health Stories Project, empowering patients and caregivers to share their authentic health journeys is at the heart of our business. Only from understanding such a journey – which is different for every person we encounter – can we authoritatively recommend strategies to…
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Performer and multiple sclerosis advocate Brittany Quiroz is keeping it real—and empowering others. If all the world is a stage, as William Shakespeare’s Jacques asserted around 400 years ago, most of us are metaphorical bit players whose challenges and dreams don’t factor into…
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Many people living with multiple illnesses don’t just manage symptoms, they also adhere to a medication schedule and may need to repeatedly adjust their overall regimen (with their doctors’ input) due to how medicines interact. Staying on top of treatments alone can have…
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Rosemary’s health concerns date back to 1984, when she was diagnosed with lupus and interstitial lung disease. In the decades since, she has been diagnosed with several other conditions, making each year more complex and challenging than the last. Looking back on her…
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Whoever said “laughter is the best medicine” probably wasn’t a doctor. Or at least I’m glad they aren’t one of my doctors. If I think I might have a broken leg, I’m going to the emergency room for x-rays before I start my…
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Ideas (and stories) are worth spreading! If that mantra resonates with you then you probably love TED Talks. For the uninitiated, TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to spreading ideas in the form of powerful talks. They cover a wide range of topics,…
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“So, I have this weird thing…” That’s how Jaime starts explaining her rare health condition to new people. She then goes on to tell them, “It starts with bumps in the armpit that hurt immensely and swell up like cysts. Then they burst…
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Memorial Day is a time many families use to visit memorials and to honor those who have died in military service. It’s also a time for people to get together and celebrate the impending summer with the time-honored tradition of grilling in the…
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When it comes to your health, two wheels are better than four! There are countless great reasons to get on a bike and start pedaling for your health. To name a few: Biking can be easier on your ankles, knees and feet than…
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During the month of May NAMI, Mental Health America, and similar organizations across America team up to bring awareness to mental health illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. While mental health issues are important to discuss year round, during this month…
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In the spring of 2011, William Gould was “running hard” – working 60 plus hours a week in healthcare administration while also pursuing a master’s degree. Although he ate poorly, rarely exercised, and was often short on sleep, William didn’t worry too much…
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We all get stressed out from time to time – long hours at work, challenges in our personal lives, health problems, even traffic jams can send blood pressures rising. Stress is unavoidable. Luckily, there are countless tools and resources available to help reduce…
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When Alex Stone left home to attend college just over a decade ago, the freshman arrived on campus with an unusually furry roommate. Stone, now 30, has cerebral palsy, a disease that affects his movement and balance. He knew he’d need assistance living…
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When Mark Lyon was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago, he started participating in new activities. He began paddle boarding off the coast of Del Mar, CA, at dawn to increase strength and agility. He began playing music in an effort to…
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What weighs roughly three pounds, has more wrinkles than a Shar Pei, contains invisible cells that stack up to 5,000 miles, and fits snugly into the space between your ears? A simple brainteaser, perhaps, but the human brain is nowhere near simple. It…
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Transmitted by tick bites, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that affects hundreds of thousands of people in the United States each year. The actual number is difficult to determine because Lyme symptoms mimic many other diseases, sometimes leading to misdiagnosis. We wanted…
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The day Patsy Schuchardt noticed that every car in the parking lot had a flat tire, she knew something was wrong. Not with the tires – they were actually fine – but with her sight. A few months earlier, Patsy had noticed her…
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Share Your Experiences with Pseudobulbar Affect to See if You Qualify for a $50 Honorarium Laughing and crying. They’re two of our most personally revealing behaviors. Why? Because they let people around us know when we feel joy and when we feel pain….
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Back in the Driver’s Seat After Brain Injury Carol Kolk is an avid autocross racer. She’s also the survivor of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Think the two are related? Sort of – but the accident that led to Carol’s brain injury happened…
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Game nights can be a great way to bring people together. It turns out, they’re also a great way to have difficult conversations about chronic illness, says Adrienne Ciskey, a Chicago-based artist who created the board game Bitter Pills to help others understand…
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We’ve all done it. You know that someone is facing a difficult situation so you say something to try to help. It comes from a good place. You genuinely want things to get better for them. The problem is that what we say…
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Lauren Morales showed no signs of a Urea Cycle disorder (UCD) until she was four years old. She and her family were at her grandmother’s house around Christmas, when her mother noticed she wasn’t acting like her usual self. Normally filled with boundless…
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How do you cope with an immensely painful medical condition many doctors don’t even know exists? Long before she knew it, that was the problem facing Maria Martinez. Early in 2008, Maria and her son were raking in the yard when she noticed…
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For many diagnosed with Celiac Disease, the initial emotional response is joy that doctors have identified the source of illness, and a renewed hope that a healthy life is once again possible. Soon after comes a realization that many of one’s favorite foods…
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Health Stories Project was created to give people opportunities to share their personal health experiences and to learn from the experiences of others.