07/03/2026
✨Medical and Professional Update
For the last year, my life has been quietly and entirely interrupted. I’ve kept a lot of this private, but it’s finally time to share what’s been going on behind the scenes.
As many of you know, I lost both my dad and my brother to major cardiac events.
What you might not know is the intense medical battle I’ve been fighting to rewrite that family history.
Despite living a deeply health-conscious life for the last 15 years, a scan five years ago showed my cardiac calcium score was shockingly high. Fast forward to last August, and my body started sounding the alarm. I began having debilitating symptoms—extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, and burning nerve pain radiating through my chest, arm, and face.
It was terrifying. But every time I went to the ER, my blood work came back "perfectly normal," and I was sent home. It happened three or four times before I finally got in front of a cardiologist for advanced testing.
The scans showed my calcium score had climbed even higher, revealing major blood flow issues and blockages. Over the last six months, I’ve had three stents placed. When my symptoms still kept rebounding every time I tried to resume a normal, active schedule, I ended up at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
They finally gave me the missing puzzle pieces: alongside the arterial plaque, I have something called endothelial dysfunction, meaning my artery walls are overly sensitive, stiff, and prone to spasming. Furthermore, we recently discovered a rare, underlying genetic disorder that has likely been quietly driving my family's severe cardiac history all along.
I am finally starting targeted treatment and seeing some minor improvements, but managing ongoing symptoms and physical limitations is a daily reality.
Going through this taught me a very harsh truth. The medical system is brilliant at keeping our hearts beating, but it offers almost zero support for the emotional trauma, the loss of your physical baseline, and the very real financial anxiety that follows. Every time I sat in the cardiologist’s waiting room, I was the youngest person there by a few decades. It is an incredibly isolating feeling. But clinically, I am not an anomaly. There is a rapidly growing demographic of adults in their mid-50s and younger who are living with early-onset cardiovascular disease. We are trying to raise families, build careers, and navigate a terrifying diagnosis all at the same time.
👉Because the system doesn't teach us how to actually live with this disease, I decided to build the space I so desperately needed.
On Sunday, I am opening the doors to Safe Harbor, a digital community specifically designed for adults 55 and under navigating early-onset cardiovascular disease.
Using my 20 years as a health and wellness provider—and my very real experience as a patient—we will be focusing on gentle, sustainable ways to rebuild physical vitality and protect our families' financial futures, without the toxic wellness dogma.
✨Here is where I could use your help:
I know most of my friends and family reading this don't need this community. But because cardiac events in younger adults are rising so quickly, you almost certainly know someone who does.
If you have a friend, a coworker, or a family member who is quietly navigating a heart diagnosis and feeling overwhelmed by the aftermath, would you please share this with them?
You can read my full story and see what Safe Harbor is all about by clicking the link below. 👇
https://safeharbor1.substack.com/p/welcome-to-your-safe-harbor
Thank you all for the love, support, and prayers over this last year. I am so grateful to be here, and I'm ready to turn this interruption into a lifeline for others. 💖
(PS: For the science and data nerds, I'll drop a few clinical references in the comments about the rise of early-onset CVD and the psychological impact of cardiac events)
A digital sanctuary for navigating early-onset cardiovascular disease, rebuilding your vitality, and securing your family's future.
