Have you ever felt like it’s impossible to be who you want to be? Have you ever been concerned that you wouldn’t live up to your hopes and dreams? Did you know, it IS possible to live the life you want to live, even with a chronic illness?
I’m Dr. Kate Herts, and in this podcast episode, I speak about how to wear a bikini with scars.
In this Podcast:
- Storytime!
- Meeting a girl like me
- Sharing stories is important
Storytime!
To catch any new listeners up to speed about my story, I was about 13 years old when I was looking for a cure for the ulcerative colitis that I was struggling with.
I went online and found a new experimental treatment which my parents supported me with, and later we met an amazing doctor in London who helped us all through it.
[In London] I met this incredible doctor who said something to me that no other doctor had said to me up until that point, and very few doctors have said since. He said, “I am going to put you on every possible treatment that exists … And if that doesn’t work, I’m going to do surgery so that you can feel a lot better. Either way, I’m going to help you feel better”, and I remember that to this day.
Dr. Herts
With chronic illness, it can be very rare to find a doctor who sticks with you throughout the process, so I was so grateful to him for being that doctor for me.
Over the next year, I was on a ton of experimental treatments, although none of them worked, and therefore I underwent surgery to remove my colon when I was 14 and got an ileostomy.
However, I got sick again after a few years and was later misdiagnosed with celiac disease. I went to a nutritionist and GI specialist and was then diagnosed with chronic pouchitis and my celiac diagnosis was reversed.
Meeting a girl like me
[When] me and my mom went for my first operation, and before I had the surgery, Dr. Sanderson did two things that no other doctor has done [for me] before; one, he brought a therapist to talk to me … And … the two people were this girl Jessica who was 16 … and her mother.
Dr. Herts
Jessica’s mom and my mom went to talk over some tea, and Jessica and I got to talk alone as well.
She told me about how she had had the same surgery I was about to have, and the best part about all of this was that Jessica was cool! And when you’re a 14-year-old girl talking to an older teen who you think is cool, their words mean a lot.
She told me how to wear a bikini with scars!
She had incredible fashion advice and really, that was what I needed at the time, and what that really showed me for the first time, and what I’ve learned so many times after, is that every time I feel like my life can’t be what I want it to be, if I look around, there’s somebody dealing with the same illness I have … living a big life.
Dr. Herts
Sharing stories is important
The reason why sharing our stories is important is because we give each other examples of how different people manage and achieve the same or similar goals while going through the same or similar struggles.
When we share stories, we learn from one another. Of course, each person’s life is unique and nuanced, but some connections can be made and lessons can be learned and shared across lives, however different they may be.
Scroll down to see some of the articles I have shared with you about various athletes and celebrities who are living with different kinds of chronic illnesses!
I hope that this gave you a good idea of all the awesome ways you can live life with a chronic illness, and I hope that we can talk more about how not to limit ourselves by our minds and rather to look for new ways and awesome things to happen, and make them happen ourselves!
Dr. Herts
RESOURCES MENTIONED AND USEFUL LINKS
Yes, You Can Be an Athlete With a Chronic Illness
23 celebrities with chronic illnesses, from Kim Kardashian to Bella Hadid
Casgevy and Lyfgenia: Two Gene Therapies Approved for Sickle Cell Disease
How Long Do Patients with Cystic Fibrosis Live?
Text SPOONIE to 833-324-2041 to join our membership community and get exclusive content including a free media guide to the chronic illness experience.
Visit The Health Psychology Center of New York. Connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Practice of the Practice Network
Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!
CONNECT WITH ME:
Email me at: kateherts@healthpsychny.com
ABOUT DR. KATE HERTS:
Dr. Kate Herts completed her Bachelor’s of Arts at Brown University, her Master’s degree in Public Health at Harvard University, and her PhD in Clinical Psychology at UCLA. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Founder and CEO of The Health Psychology Center of New York, a group practice of expert psychologists providing evidence-based therapies tailored to meet the specific and urgent needs of teens and young adults with chronic medical conditions. Dr. Herts’ vision is to ultimately create a global wellness community for mental health practitioners, patients and family members dedicated to creating a better world for all people with chronic illness.
On this podcast, Dr. Herts gets personal about her experiences growing up as a lesbian millennial woman with a serious chronic illness; what she has learned from her patients and colleagues as a health psychologist; how she has built a meaningful life through it all; and how you can do it, too.
