Amanda Doulos is a digital editor for Love What Matters based in New York City. She will graduate from Binghamton University with a Bachelor of English Literature and Spanish in Spring 2023. She loves staying involved as vice president of the mock trial team and secretary of Spanish Honor Society. In her free time, she loves reading, traveling, and spending time with friends.
‘There’s NO WAY insurance will cover this. Order a self-test kit off Amazon.’ I BEGGED the doctor to refer me.’: Endometriosis warrior details chronic illness journey, ‘I know my body best’
“I left her office crying, but this time tears of joy. Someone FINALLY believed me. Someone finally was going to help me figure it all out. Someone was going to help me feel better.”
‘You have 2 cervixes and 2 uteruses.’ People couldn’t be ‘bothered’ with my bad days. ‘You’re either in, or out.’: Woman learns to advocate for herself after Endometriosis, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome diagnoses
“Living everyday in an unknown, unpredictable state affects you more than people realize.”
‘I must be crazy.’ The façade was crumbling. I had a rash on my face, feet, and hands. I tried to smile and stay strong.’: Lupus warrior shares journey, ‘I am STRONG and radiant’
“I participated in an online course about ‘positivity,’ which aligned perfectly with my mentality of sugarcoating all my symptoms. I thought to myself, ‘All this can’t be true.’”
‘I think she has some fractures.’ Nobody knew what was wrong with me. The pain was EVERYWHERE.’: Chronic illness warrior fights to ‘stay positive’
“All my problems, physical and mental, changed me. I get more medical visits than visits from my friends. But I still need to see the positives in life.”
‘What happens to seniors who DON’T have family?’ I HAD to help them.’: Woman starts organization sending letters to seniors, ‘I make people smile’
“I am pretty sure my grandparents were looking down on me that day.”
‘He’ll grow out of it,’ they’d say. I didn’t. I spent YEARS masking myself to fit who I thought I needed to be. I learned to celebrate my differences.’: LGBTQ man waiting for autism diagnosis, ‘I was BORN this way’
“I began to only stim in the privacy of my bedroom or the bathroom and treated it like a dirty secret I’d hopefully grow out of, along with my attraction to boys and all things deemed feminine.“
‘You have MULTIPLE disorders, all at once.’ I’ve been home-bound for 5 YEARS. I didn’t know I had this COURAGE.’: Chronic migraine sufferer shares journey, ‘NEVER stop pushing’
“There will be days when you have to take the pain minute by minute. You’ll dig deep and find a strength you didn’t know was humanly possible.”
‘Do you tell the guy? Can you DATE?’ It came on SO fast. I’m preparing myself for the future, incurable or not.’: Woman diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, ‘It won’t stop me from living’
“I started tripping. People called me ‘clumsy.’ I thought it was normal because people trip over things, don’t they? It all happened unexpectedly. ‘I’m going blind. I’m really going blind.’ It came on SO fast.”
‘What’s wrong with you? Why are you walking like that?’ I didn’t want to be in a wheelchair. I stood out too much.’: Woman shares journey as wheelchair model, ‘This beautiful body is mine’
“When I was a teenager, I completely lost my walking ability. It took time for people to realize what was inside me. The wheelchair always stole my role. It was like I was in a dress that didn’t belong to me.”
‘I donated 112 GALLONS. It’s a high I’ve never felt before.’: Mom donates breast milk to micro preemies, ‘Every box I ship brings me joy’
“I was able to help feed that little girl until she turned a year old and it was such an amazing feeling knowing that something my body created was able to nourish and help grow another human being other than my own!”