Late June 2020 – I stayed home another two weeks after the telehealth visit and the doctor said I could return to work. My eye infections lasted the last two weeks of active Covid, but my eyes never felt normal again. I went back to work a week later (3 wks after) but the schedule was slow, I didn’t work much. In late July, I quit my job. I continued to have health problems. I began to have blister breakouts on my fingers, toes, and C-section scar that would take weeks to heal sometimes would break out into open wounds (Covid toes, most don’t get it on their fingers). I did go try to get seen. The nurse practitioner gave me steroid cream and told me I was washing my hand too much. The pharmacist when I picked up the cream also said I was washing my hands too much. I was actually washing my hands less than the previous 10 years because I was not giving 6/7 massages a day and washing my hands before and after
I also had severe fatigue and random swelling in my legs and feet. Now I was raised by two Grandmasters in Taekwondo, my father and his teacher. My superheroes. My father asked and got permission for me to test for my 2nd-degree black belt, while my children tested for their 1st degree. It probably saved my life. Gave me a goal, made me keep moving my body even when it was hard. It was very clear at the pretest before that I was not moving as I normally do. I realized my fatigue could be from low iron. I had an iron deficiency during my first pregnancy and was feeling similar dizzy spells and exhaustion. Almost immediately after taking OTC iron supplements, my energy started to come back 😊September 2020, I received my 2nd-degree black belt in Taekwondo.
Unsure if I was going to be able to continue massaging, I decided to continue my education online. I have always planned to get into psychology research on the mental health benefits of martial arts. I have watched and seen, and personally experienced how much martial arts can help people since I was about 4 years old. It’s my world. I love massage but have always known I may not physically be able to continue at some point in my life. Online grad classes began in October 2020 for my master’s in child and adolescent psychology.
By Sept 2020 – I also figured out how to stop the breakouts on my hands. I tried the steroid cream, nada. I tried OTC eczema creams/soaps etc, nada. I finally tried a CBD gummy. CBD full spectrum, less than 3% THC and can be sold legally to anyone. I even tested it and stopped taking them. Finger blisters came back. I kept taking them. No more breakouts on my hands or scar!
My father had been renting shared space to teach his taekwondo class but after the shut down had to find a different place to stay open. He found a space to rent nearby, that ‘just happened” to have a room in the back where I could practice massage around classes. Pushy old man, lol. By then I realized that I was still having chronic health issues. That working for someone else would be impossible between having flair-ups and attempting doctor’s appointments. I was irritating my boss at the job I quit after two months. So, if I was ever going to do massage, on my own it would have to be. October 2020, I began my own private massage practice at the taekwondo studio. I can block my schedule for doctors, or if I’m having a bad week. And most importantly** I can sanitize, clean, schedule appts apart, and require masks. I’ve mostly worked part-time in comparison to the “before times” but in Feb 2022, I’m still going.
By Sept 2020 I saw a pattern emerging of my long-term symptoms. Every month just before my period, I’d have a flair up. Every month it would be something different. Every month got less and less except joints.
| Right ankle swelling | Blister break outs (fingers/toes/c-section scar) | By Dec 2020, gained 60lbs. |
| Both legs swelling | One or both feet swelling | headaches |
| Joints in fingers and toes swelling | My middle finger middle knuckle “buddy” is swollen today still, first of the joints | Sensitivity to light was constant since active Covid |
December 2020 – I knew something was wrong with my eyes. I was struggling to focus, things were blurry. I struggled to do school work and would fall asleep. It took until March to get seen by an eye doctor. She said my eyes look healthy, but I should be wearing glasses all the time. “well, you’re almost 40”
My Neurodivergent Path 