Perpetually Cushie – a Column by Kat Rees

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Kat attended the University of Nevada, Reno, and graduated in 2015 with a bachelors in speech pathology. She suffered from Cushing’s syndrome throughout college and became free of it in 2015. Her ambition is to raise awareness of this illness and help others gain confidence in taking charge of their health.

Important Qualities for Partners of People With Cushing’s

Having a rare disease is a struggle, and sometimes I feel alone, like nobody understands me. Luckily, when I was going through Cushing’s disease, my fiancé and now husband, Logan, provided me with emotional support. It was difficult on both of us. While I was experiencing physical pain, my hormones…

How Extreme Dieting Damaged My Body

Before receiving treatment, navigating Cushing’s disease was extremely difficult for me, not only because of the painful and fatiguing symptoms, but also because I started to gain weight like never before in my life. I was always a thin person, so this aspect of the disease left me feeling embarrassed.

How a Phone App Helped Me Finally Get Diagnosed

Have you ever thought that your phone could play a vital role in your journey to a medical diagnosis? There’s so much information to be utilized from such a small device, including its internet capability, its camera, and the apps. Surprisingly, an app helped me significantly in my Cushing’s…

What I Learned During My Frustrating Journey to Diagnosis

Getting diagnosed with Cushing’s disease was a tricky process for me, and it often can take a long time. While some in my community have been struggling with symptoms for years, a few of us received our diagnoses rather quickly. Here’s a bit of history to preface my advice.

The Importance of Having Friends Who Understand Your Disease

In the midst of my disease, I felt very alone. Invisible diseases like Cushing’s tend to make life harder, because one shows no outward signs of an illness. Those who haven’t been through something similar may have a hard time relating to the hardships. Therefore, I believe being friends with…

Seeing Beyond the Stereotypes

There’s more to people than meets the eye, although the first thing we often notice about someone is how large or small they are. When I was younger, I was always thin and in shape. I never had to try to maintain my weight, and well into college, I still…

A Letter to My Newly Diagnosed Self

Thinking back over the last few years following my recovery from Cushing’s disease, I still deal with some painful thoughts. To help process those thoughts, I wrote a letter to the person I was before my recovery, from the perspective of the person I currently am. In it,…

This Is What Trauma Looks Like to Me

When I hear the word “trauma,” I think about car accidents, fires, military deployments, and abuse. I think of movies with sad music and loud explosions, not the quiet hours at night trying to fall asleep despite the pain. Trauma has affected my mental health in a major way, but…