Category: Physical Activity

From D1 Athlete to Autoimmune Warrior: Misty’s Journey of Resilience and Redefining Strength

Posted on by Karin W

From D1 Athlete to Autoimmune Warrior: Misty’s Journey of Resilience and Redefining Strength

Karin W

August 18, 2025

When you’ve trained your whole life to push your body to the limit, listening when it says “stop” doesn’t come naturally. 

For Misty, a former Division 1 field hockey player turned elite coach, the journey from peak performance to living with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis has been one of resilience, self-discovery, and redefining what strength really means.

Ignoring the Red Flags

Looking back, Misty admits her body was signaling trouble long before her diagnosis.

Hair loss at 20, unexplained fatigue, and repeated “mono” misdiagnoses were dismissed as normal stressors of college athletics and academics.

Like many athletes, she rationalized every symptom—until her body forced her to stop.

“I was training for a marathon when everything went sideways. My body just quit,” she recalls. “I thought I was having an allergic reaction. My throat closed, my legs gave out. It was terrifying.”

Takeaways:

  • Don’t dismiss unusual symptoms as “just stress.”
  • Track patterns—energy dips, flares, recurring illnesses.
  • Advocate for yourself in medical appointments. If you don’t feel heard, push back or seek another doctor.
A female field hockey coach in a black jacket, looking focused while observing a training session at night.

The Betrayal of the Body

For an athlete whose identity was built on physical ability, losing control of her legs was devastating.

“Field hockey was my craft. To suddenly not be able to demonstrate skills for my players—it felt like my body betrayed me.”

And yet, that sense of betrayal eventually transformed into gratitude.

Misty vividly remembers sobbing on the side of the road one Halloween, convinced she’d never walk through a pumpkin patch with her son.

Today, even on difficult days, she grounds herself in gratitude: “If I can laugh with my kids at night, that’s a successful day.”

A coach in a white hooded sweatshirt with 'LOYOLA FIELD HOCKEY' printed on it, wearing sunglasses and smiling while walking on a sports field, with a quote about strength in adapting over overcoming displayed on the image.

Redefining Success

For Misty, success used to mean winning, medals, and relentless drive. Now, it means balance, boundaries, and perspective.

“I sprint, then I rest. I force breaks into my day. I’d rather have giggles with my kids than a clean house or a perfect dinner.”

She applies the same philosophy in her coaching.

While she still pushes her athletes to sharpen their skills, she also emphasizes mental health and perspective:

“I wish someone had told me it was okay to just take up space without the medals and the crowns. That’s the message I want to give my players: your worth isn’t tied to performance.”

Takeaways:

  • Create flexible definitions of success (e.g., finishing a light workout, enjoying practice, being present with loved ones).
  • Recognize that rest is a form of training.
  • Celebrate consistency, not just peak performance.
A group of enthusiastic female athletes celebrating together on a dirt field, showcasing joy and camaraderie after a game.

Breaking the Myths of Autoimmune Disease

One of the biggest lessons Misty wants other athletes to know is that appearance doesn’t equal health.

At her sickest, weighing just 102 pounds, people told her she looked “great.” In reality, her body was eating itself.

“Weight has nothing to do with performance. Your body is a gift, no matter what it looks like. What matters is how you manage your energy—your spoons—and whether your goals are worth the risk.”

Takeaways:

  • Health is not defined by weight or appearance.
  • Focus on function: energy levels, recovery, and performance—not aesthetics.
  • Strength is about resilience, not body type.

👉 “Your body is a gift. It doesn’t need to look a certain way to perform.”

A family of four poses together outdoors, smiling. The father stands on the left wearing a black t-shirt and dark pants, while the mother, on the right, wears a striped blue and white sweater. The son, in a blue shirt and beige shorts, stands in front of them, and the daughter, dressed in a yellow outfit, is held by the mother.

Finding Invisible Strength

Through setbacks, diagnoses, and loss, Misty has found strength not in powering through but in adapting, slowing down, and embracing gratitude.

“My oldest sister passed away. My younger sister is battling cancer. I live with lupus and RA. But I wake up knowing how lucky I am. I’ve been through hell and I’m still here—and that perspective changes everything.”

Her story is a powerful reminder that invisible strength isn’t about doing it all—it’s about knowing when to rest, when to fight, and how to find joy in the small moments.

Dance on, friends,
Karin

P.S. If you live with an autoimmune condition or love someone who does, know this: You’re not alone.

P.S.S. Subscribe to our blog and podcast for more inspiring stories and practical strategies from real warriors like Misty.

Disclaimer: These tools do not replace the advice of a health care professional; if you have concerns about your health, please consult a health care professional.

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Progress is Progress

Posted on by Karin W

Progress is Progress

Karin W

February 14, 2023

Productivity is a sensitive topic in the autoimmune disease community. We feel guilty and defensive about what we’re not getting done, or we’re pushing through despite raging symptoms. It’s a never-ending tug-of-war between our to-do lists and getting adequate rest. The most depressing part is that we *want* to do our to-do lists (well, we at least want the option to do them 😉

But rather than continuing to push through with no avail, we can reshape how we think about productivity, and what that looks like can and should change based on how we’re feeling at any given moment.

Reshape how we think about action.

I spent 2.5 years in the most intense arthritic flare I’d experienced in 15-plus years living with lupus. I left my corporate marketing job and spent my time recovering.

During that time, it was a continuous tug-of-war between my overachieving type-A personality to do something “productive” and every other ounce of my body telling me to relax and recover. You can imagine how well telling a type-A personality to relax goes over.

Three concepts helped me not only get through those days but also recover and become healthier than ever.

1. Our Health is a Sliding Scale that We Influence

We typically envision a starting and ending point. We set a goal, tell ourselves we’re going to do it, and then quit when it gets hard or when we’re not feeling well. Rather, we can replace the all-or-nothing mentality with a sliding scale that’s influenced by our daily actions that hinder or foster our health.

What we do to take care of ourselves can and should change based on how we’re feeling at any given moment.

Physical movement is just one piece of our makeup. Humans are the dominating species on earth because of our massive brains. We have a conscience and the ability to produce logic. Ironically our intelligence and mental health often take a back seat, especially when we’re managing these intensely physical diseases.

During that flare, I listened to pain management meditations with the Headspace app. The short 10-minute sessions coached me through the pain and improved my sleep. Once my pain was under control, I started biking and trying low-impact workouts on YouTube.

Early in that experience, I felt like my life was passing me by, but during those hours of breathing through the pain, I grew to understand my days weren’t wasting away. I was taking small actions to recover and adopting a mindfulness practice that helped with pain and stress management.

As I leaned into my recovery embracing wherever I was on any given day, the incremental progress became a continuous stream of healthier daily habits that gave me the grace to heal in my own time.

By adjusting our priorities to align with how we’re feeling, we can do small actions that improve our well-being more than if we had pushed through our old To-Do List.

2. Take 1 Action, and Don’t Stress about the Rest

In the book Atomic Habits, author James Clear discusses how continuous small changes compound into massive ones, whether good or bad. If you do 1% better each day for one year, you’ll end up 37 times better at the end of the year.

“Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits… you get what you repeat.” –Best Selling Author James Altucher

Whether you do a 10-minute meditation session while laid up or a yoga video on YouTube, those small actions may seem not worth it in the moment. Still, over time, they’ll contribute to significant physical and mental improvements.

Keep it small, so it’s digestible.

Limit yourself to one or two areas you want to improve; for instance hydration and pain management, or exercise and nutrition. Changing too much in our overscheduled lives often leads to burnout.

Give yourself grace when you have challenges along the way. Every “setback” is life’s way of guiding you to the path meant for you. We always have this moment. The key is accepting this moment for whatever it is and making those small steps toward a healthier you.

3. Fuel your passion

The third piece is doing anything that makes you lose track of time. When times are better and you’re feeling physically able, be sure to carve out space. Your physical and mental health will benefit.

Gardening is my jam. I love being outside. I get great satisfaction picking weeds and nurturing vegetation to fruition. I’m mentally a different person when I get to be outside. Those moments of well-being can carry you through the harder times.

On the days when I can’t walk to the mailbox, much less pick weeds, I read the latest in soil care. From maximizing intercropping planting to keeping my cherry tomatoes from splitting, my gardening skills have vastly improved thanks to my inability to function properly physically.

Find your space. You’ll be mentally and physically rewarded for fulfilling your passion.

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