Let’s be perfectly clear: there I was, in the doctor’s office, bleeding, terrified, and fresh off a diagnosis so rare no one could pronounce it — truly the moment you realize life doesn’t come with a support team. The room was so empty it echoed. Support? Not a soul. Just me, my symptoms, and a diagnosis that sounded like it came with its own plot twist.
Twenty years ago, MCTD (Mixed Connective Tissue Disease) wasn’t exactly trending. No hashtags, no awareness ribbons, no “I saw a documentary about that.” It was more like, “Congratulations, you’ve unlocked a medical mystery. Good luck.
It was a strange, surreal chapter — the kind of chapter that makes you realize you’re stronger than you ever signed up to be.
Healing, always — and your opinion of me has no bearing on my direction.
Jennifer Nicole Nelson, Principal Designer
