Living with Blank

We talk more about her life in general, how it is to be chronically ill at a young age, but also about how she tries to manage to stay positive despite it all. Because sadness, frustrations, grief etc. is a huge part of not living the life you expected.  

Mathilde is a 21 years old nursing student. She lives in Copenhagen in Denmark. When she was 12 she got diagnosed with scoliosis, but throughout the years she's been getting sicker and sicker and is now struggling with multiple conditions.   

She's had three spinal fusions because of her scoliosis, she's had a spine infection and is now also diagnosed with allodynia, neuropathy, Irritable bowel syndrome, Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome, osteoporosis, dystonic cramps, and several other conditions. But most of all - all of these things mean she's suffering from chronic pain.  

She created her Instagram account @ungmensyg which means “Young but sick” as a way to spread awareness and hopefully be able to support others. She's always struggled to fit in and find her place, because a life with chronic pain is way different from the one a regular young student lives.  

I hope you enjoy this very interesting story and you can find her instagram page in the link below:  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ungmensyg

On this week's episode of living with blank, I interview Nikki on her experience living with psoriasis.  

Nikki has lived with psoriasis for over 20 years and has learned many things about this experience.  She created her Instagram page @nikki_de.wit to share her life living with psoriasis.  Going public and talking about her experience has helped her grow as a person.    

In this episode we talk about topics ranging from past treatments to the mental side of having psoriasis and looking different from the "norm".    

I hope you enjoy this episode and please like and subscribe if you did.  The audio portion is also available on all major podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.  

You can check out Nikki on instagram and this great photoshoot she did talking about her experience below.  

IG: https://www.instagram.com/nikki_de.wit

Photoshoot: https://psoriasispatientennederland.nl/fotoshoot-2020-emiel

On this week's episode of the Living with Blank podcast, I interview Nicole on her experience living with POTS or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.  

Nicole is a 23-year-old, first-year medical student, and last year she was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome or POTS for short.  POTS has impacted her life in a way she never expected.  She was forced to give up so much, both physically and mentally.  

Nevertheless, she feels like this experience is going to make her a more empathetic doctor one day.  She is learning the patient perspective from the inside now and hopes to use all that she is learning by being sick, to be able to help her patients in the future.  Basically, she wants to be a doctor who listens when no one else seems to.  

If you're a sick teen or young adult please feel free to check out her Instagram @potsiepacks.  @potsiepacks is where Nicole sends out free care packages to help cheer people up and to increase access to helpful medical items.  

I hope everyone enjoyed this episode and make sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already.  Everyone check out the links below and help out if you can with the great cause Nicole is doing with @potsiepacks.  

Nicole's Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/nicolebelieves/

Potsiepacks IG account: https://www.instagram.com/potsiepacks/

Donate directly to Potsiepacks: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-nicole-send-care-packages-to-sick-teens?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet

Hayden Grove is a sports reporter and social media producer for cleveland.com, where he's covered the Cleveland Browns, Indians and Cavaliers, as well as the Ohio State Buckeyes, since 2016. A graduate of Ohio State, Grove also sings the standards of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Michael Buble, etc. all around the Northeast Ohio area, performing at weddings, nursing homes, food trucks and wherever music can be heard.

Grove is also an advocate for mental health, having been diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2011, which led to a subsequent eating disorder and further battles with mental illness over 10 years. His hope is that by sharing his story, that others battling any mental health issues will feel loved, supported and never alone.

You can read a story about his mental health journey, inspired by Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, and you can find him on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, at the links below.

His story: https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2019/1...​

Twitter: Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) / Twitter https://twitter.com/H_Grove​

Instagram: Hayden Grove (@h_grove) • Instagram https://www.instagram.com/h_grove/​

TikTok: Hayden Grove (@h_grove) TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@h_grove?lang=en

On this week’s episode I interviewed Christine from @myibslife.

Christine has been living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome since she first got diagnosed in 2007. Struggling to manage the pain, anxiety & loneliness that comes with IBS, Christine created an Instagram account called MyIBSLife in June of 2019 as a way to cope through memes and jokes. Her page has now become a home and community to 36,000+ chronic illness warriors who are looking to be understood, heard and validated.

Through MyIBSLife, it is Christine’s mission to bring awareness to the reality of living life with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and other digestive disorders, through humorous and relatable content. It is also her goal to create and maintain a safe, open place for others to share their own chronic illness journeys.

You can follow Christine on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myibslife/ (@myibslife)

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xtineolivo?lang=en (@xtineolivo)

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UChUGg9E9WhlaacUuHPB09BQ

Kristen is a mom of two, living in Canada.    

She was diagnosed with Anterior Cuteneous Nerve Entrapment in December of this year after seeing many doctors; all who originally thought she had digestive issues.  

Her hope in telling her story is to spread awareness on ACNES as a condition and as a diagnosis.  

For support, info and to follow her health journey you can find her on instagram @acnesyndrome.  

You can also find more info on the Facebook group she is a member of.  On Facebook search: "ACNES Anterior Cuteneous Nerve Entrapment" undre groups.  

I hope everyone enjoys this episode, and make sure to like/subscribe.  The podcast is also available on all major podcast platforms.  Thank you!

On this weeks episode of Living with Blank, I interview Becky Johnson on her experience living with Bipolar Disorder.

Becky is a writer and mixed media artist. She has been navigating a bipolar world for most of her life and was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 Disorder 19 years ago.

Check out Becky’s new bipolar inspired Instagram page @TheUpAndDownLife She is in the process of writing a book she describes as a “bipolar roadmap” for both individuals with bipolar disorder and those who love them. The book also includes her personal essays on the bipolar experience.

Resources: NAMI.org (National Alliance of Mental Illness) Please reach out if you are in crisis! text NAMI at 741741 Or call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800.273.8255