The Most Inspiring Health Stories Real People Shared With Us This Year

Our hope when we started the project was that by recounting personal stories, it would both shed light on these conditions and offer solidarity to other people facing similar situations. What we couldn't have expected, though, was how many individuals would step forward to boldly and honestly share their stories with us.

"I am thankful that I finally received a diagnosis but disappointed in how long it took to make sense of my symptoms. And I know I'm not the only one who has (or currently is) suffering from a misunderstood or undiagnosed case of celiac... On average, most individuals with celiac spend 10 years suffering from the time their symptoms start until the time they get diagnosed. Ten years! While they might be common, gut issues are not normal and there is always a cause." —Wendie Trubow, M.D., MBA

"I go to bed in pain; I wake up in pain. But I'm able to get out of bed, I'm able to lead my company, which advocates for underrepresented communities in the workplace, and I'm able to inspire hundreds of thousands of people. I think that's pretty great and powerful, and I'm really proud of myself for being able to do it." —Akilah Cadet, DHSc, MPH

"I got to a point where these unexplained symptoms started affecting my stress levels and my anxiety. I started feeling depressed because I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me—I literally thought I was dying of cancer—and worst of all, nobody believed me." —Michael Chernow

"I believe you are so much more than your health, no matter what you're dealing with. In my younger years, I wanted to fit in, and I had so much shame around feeling and looking different. But now as an adult, I'm thrilled that I'm not typical. In fact, I think that's what makes me special." —Harper Spero

"Everybody is different, and there needs to be room for those differences—there's no right or wrong to any chronic, rare, or invisible condition. It's also important to remember meeting one person with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is not a representation of what it's like for another person living with it. The condition is sporadic, unpredictable, and it impacts both physical and mental health, as do most invisible illnesses." —Lara Bloom

"I remember one day I was sitting in my parked car, after taking my co-workers to lunch. Suddenly, I slammed on my brakes because it felt like the car was moving forward—but we were totally sitting still, and everyone looked at me like I was nuts. Incidents like this kept happening. It made me too nervous to drive, and I felt like I was losing my mind." —Alicia Wolf

"When I turned 11 years old—right at the onset of puberty, no less—I felt my ankle inverting uncontrollably. What should have been a painful but otherwise unremarkable injury for a kid my age was actually the start of a lifelong health journey." —Carrie SiuButt

"It was really important for me to realize [my eating disorder] wasn't about me being weak, and it wasn't even about food—even though that was the outward manifestation of this mental illness—it was about control, wanting to be perfect, and wanting to avoid my feelings." —Jessie Diggins

"You know yourself best, so you have to be your own advocate. Western medicine doesn't know everything; Eastern medicine doesn't know everything, either. Do not stop asking why until you begin healing." —Rachel Drori

"I sensed the nurses and doctor were growing skeptical, as well. Not necessarily because they were unsympathetic but because they see this all the time. Anxiety has a nasty way of making people think they're dying." —Melissa Lewis-Duarte, Ph.D.

"Luckily, since my diagnosis, I haven't had a low so urgent that I lose consciousness, and my highs never last long enough to do any damage. With the right treatment, type 1 diabetes is manageable, but it's important to know how serious it can get if you stop taking care of yourself." —Christina Coughlin

"My 20s were a blur of binge drinking, toxic relationships, and never seeming to be able to get my head above water. That decade changed me, at first for the worst and then for the better. But with most things that are painful and life-altering, that time period shaped who I am today...I just sometimes wish I had been a faster learner."—Alexandra D'Elia, R.D., CDN, RDN

"I was recently asked if I hate or love my OCD, and I answered 'Neither.' I can't imagine my life without it. While I sometimes feel curious about what my day-to-day life might be like without OCD, it is essential to the way I relate to the world. It has caused me great suffering, and it has also caused immense pride in my ability to work with my mind." —Olivia Giacomo