More Than My Illness: An Intro to Me
Hi, I’m Halie!
When I was five years old, I was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, I’m now cancer-free, but I live with the late effects of the harsh treatments I underwent at such a young age. In 2022, I was officially diagnosed with vestibular migraines, and in 2024, I received a status migrainosus diagnosis.
For a long time, I defined myself by my illnesses. So, it only feels right to start my first blog by introducing all the other aspects of my life that make me unique.
Growing up, I moved around a lot—living in multiple states before I even started sixth grade. It was challenging, but it taught me how to adapt and grow. More recently, I made a huge cross-country move from my hometown of Denver, Colorado, to Northern Virginia. It was a big step, but I’m so glad I took it! Now, I live with the love of my life and my biggest supporter, Kendrick. Living with him is so much fun. He makes the tough days easier, and I have plenty of those due to my health. But no matter what, Kendrick always makes me smile and laugh, which means everything.
In January 2021, I rescued my cat, Jiji, during one of the hardest times of my life. As cliché as it sounds, he completely saved me. At the time, I was struggling while living in an extremely patriarchal, high-control environment. I had also recently survived sexual assault by another student at the religious school I attended. I fought for months to get justice, but in the end, I was told that because the student held power in the church, "he wouldn’t do that."
Being dismissed for speaking my truth wasn’t just painful—it ignited a feminist fire in me that is now a core part of my identity. I knew I wasn’t the only one being silenced. A few months after adopting Jiji, I started a podcast called Real Talk About Feminism with my older sister. For almost four years, we explored important topics through the lens of feminism and our personal experiences. The podcast is still going strong today but recently rebranded as You, Me, and The Girls. Around the same time the podcast launched, I organized a sexual assault protest in my college town. We marched as close to campus as we legally could, chanting and holding signs that called out the school and church for covering up abuse. Both of these moments solidified something in me—my voice matters, even when people try to convince me it doesn’t.
Fast forward to today, and I’m passionate about sharing my chronic illness journey on social media. I post vlogs of my specialist appointments, relatable chronic illness humor, raw emotional moments, motivational content for flare-ups, and so much more. I felt alone in my chronic illness journey, but deep down, I knew I wasn’t the only one. So, I decided to start sharing my story. Now, I’m building an incredible community of chronic illness warriors who truly understand what it’s like to live with an invisible illness.
This is the first of many blogs to come. As I continue to grow this community, I hope you’ll join me and follow along.
