Kristin’s journey proved that while illness might shape stories, it doesn’t have to define them. Faith, determination, love, healing, and joy can rise from the darkest places. In October 2006, Kristin’s life shifted in ways she never saw coming. What started as flu-like symptoms, a fever, and a rash seemed like just another virus picked up from her kids, then ages 6, 2, and 8 months. But her then-husband urged her to see a doctor when things didn’t improve.
The visit led to a serious “viral infection” diagnosis and a push for a flu vaccine, even though she was already sick. Reluctant but pressured, she went ahead. Within days, her body betrayed her. Severe pain and partial paralysis in her upper body left her unable to lift her arms. For six painful months, she suffered, terrified she wouldn’t live long enough to raise her children. The doctor who gave her the vaccine refused to acknowledge her symptoms as a reaction and turned her away, leaving her to struggle alone in fear.
Relief finally came in the spring of 2007, at a baseball field everywhere. Watching her son’s practice, Kristin started a conversation with another mother in a white coat, a rheumatologist. That chance encounter turned out to be life-changing. After months of testing, this new doctor diagnosed her with Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism and Rheumatoid Arthritis. The vaccine, combined with a prior infection, had triggered a full-blown autoimmune response.
At 31, life did not seem pleasing to anyone. The constant fatigue and chronic pain, and knowing that she was sick, affected multiple areas of her life as it strained her relationships with her friends and family. However, her little angels kept her going through their comforting words and the belief that she would be completely okay.
In 2012, her marriage ended. Taking care of three children all alone was not an easy job, especially with Kristin’s declining physical health. Guilt, exhaustion, and questions of identity consumed her, but her faith became her anchor.
Soon after, she met a man who would become her second husband. Both were wary after the divorce but found strength in each other. He loved her for who she was, embraced her children, and gave her a joy she hadn’t felt in years. They married in 2018, blending their families in a small, heartfelt ceremony.
But health struggles don’t pause for love stories. Her autoimmune flares worsened, leaving her exhausted and discouraged. The death of her mother in 2017 further broke her spirit, as grief and responsibility weighed heavily.
An endocrinologist dismissed her symptoms and even her diagnosis, telling her it was all in her head. Devastated, she cried in her car, but then made a decision: she would take her health back. Her life was all about going through and researching lifestyle changes and their impacts. Kristin completely remodeled her diet, and in just months, she saw results: her labs improved, her weight dropped, and her symptoms eased. Now there was hope to get better and to live!
That progress sparked something bigger. In 2018, she left her career as a CPA to pursue health coaching, focusing on helping others with thyroid disease. With her husband’s support, she built her business from scratch, creating programs, a website, and even publishing a guide.
It wasn’t easy; the pandemic nearly stalled her work, and financial strain tested her marriage, but she stayed rooted in her purpose. Her mission became clear: to help women with Hashimoto’s see that healing was possible, that they don’t have to suffer silently, and that they can reclaim their lives.
Kristin’s story was one of resilience, faith, and love. It’s about a mother who refused to give up, a woman who turned her pain into purpose, and a family who endured hardship together.
She knows her journey isn’t unique; millions of women live with Hashimoto’s, but she also knows no one should walk in alone. By sharing her story, she offered proof that healing body, mind, and soul was within reach even when illness took hold.
