About Me

Imagine a Venn diagram comprising three circles:

• The first circle: patients with severe enough MECFS to speak firsthand on how horrific it is.

• The second circle: patients who are still well enough to write.

• The third circle: patients who have had research-level scientific experience.

I am in all three.

My background in no particular order:

• Attended NC State University on a Park Scholarship and graduated with a degree in Microbiology and a minor in classics.

• Awarded Goldwater Scholarship in 2007 after performing microbiology research in the Grunden Lab at NC State and biochemistry research in the Copié Lab at Montana State University.

• Worked at the NC State Crime Lab in Forensic Biology for five years.

• Owned and operated a family photography business in Raleigh, NC for 10 years.

• Writer featured in Slate, HuffPo, and on stage at Listen To Your Mother (Raleigh 2017).

• Diagnosed with moderate MECFS in 2017 after acquiring viral infection in 2006. Fully disabled in 2018. Severe MECFS in 2024.

• Enthusiastic supporter of JohnVs.JonVs.ME whereby convince John Oliver or John Stewart to cover MECFS, “the greatest medical scandal of the 21st century.”

Join me over on Facebook for meme Friday, a tradition since COVID. We have a lot of fun over there.