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This Is Not What I Ordered: conversations on chronic illness, loss + change


Jan 14, 2020

In this episode, I’m joined by Michelle Horton, a close friend and fellow therapist.

 

In the middle of finishing grad school and planning a wedding, Michelle went in for a routine blood test, which showed an abnormally high platelet count. After this finding, a whirlwind of tests and doctors determined that she had essential thrombocytosis and endometriosis. She was 23. 

 

After that, Michelle had to learn how to stand in the uncertainty that her new diagnoses brought with them. Could she have a regular life? Could she have children? Ten years later, Michelle is working as a licensed therapist and is a mother to her 19-month-old son. 

 

There have been definite struggles over the last decade, she shares, but she’s learned a thing or two along the way (some of which she shares with us in this episode). She has an inner light that her health challenges haven’t diminished and, if anything, have only made stronger. During our chat, Michelle walked me through some of the tools she’s used over the last decade to support herself and overcome the uncertainty — tools I think all of us can use. 

 

Michelle and I connected most over the idea of “not knowing,” over the questions and challenges we both face. Despite our different conditions, our experiences have linked us together in a way that I’m excited to share with all of you. I also hope you’ll be as inspired by Michelle as I am.