Here's my story
So, I applied. Not because I was healthy or because it made sense, but because applying gave me something I hadn’t felt in months: hope. Maybe one day, I might be healthy enough to chase it.
Behind the scenes, I took responsibility for my recovery. I researched relentlessly, leaned on family and friends, and built a last-resort protocol with no guarantees and no confirmed diagnosis. When my insurance approved the treatment and Guinness World Records approved my attempt on the very same day, I took it as a sign.
Six weeks later, my fever broke, and I could stomach food again.
That was the beginning of 643 days of transformation. The goal wasn’t the record itself, but becoming the kind of person capable of breaking one.
I rebuilt my body and my mind. Sport became the vehicle for that transformation, revealing that adversity doesn’t define us, but shows us who we can choose to become.
That approach carried me across six full IRONMAN triathlons on six continents in under a year, becoming the fastest and youngest woman to do so.
What started as a physical challenge became a way of paying attention to what shows up when things get uncomfortable, and to the choices that shape who we are when there’s nothing left to prove.
And now that I know what it’s like to almost lose it all, I choose not to forget.
