Hi! My name is Michelle. I have been diagnosed with multiple auto-immune diseases as well as a cluster of other physical and mental conditions. Stiff Person Syndrome and Lupus are currently making the biggest impacts on my health and life. I have a wonderful team of Doctors at Vanderbilt University who work together to help me be the healthiest, best version of me that I can be.

I don’t let my physical or mental ailments define me. Infact I strive to defy them. I am a wife to the most caring, incredible husband/ caregiver that any girl could dream of. We have an incredibly gifted son who is full of empathy and compassion and shares my desire to raise awareness. 

I live just outside Nashville in an average house, in an average subdivision. We share our home with a dog named Pup, my therapy cat, Kitty and her two pals Peggy and Izzie. 

I have a strong desire to raise awareness for Stiff Persons Syndrome and other rare diseases. Sometimes the desire is so strong and weighs so heavily on my heart that it causes depression. I can’t help but to think of all those who are facing these struggles alone, who are searching the Internet for answers and finding outdated or incorrect information. 

I hope to provide information, inspiration and advice to others who are have similar struggles to mine. I want to virtually hug all the newly diagnosed and let them know “You are going to be ok!”. 

Someday I hope to reach beyond my blog and make a bigger impact on the Stiff Person Syndrome Community. My long term goal would be to unite the community as a whole where conversations were fluid and everyone could benefit from information shared.

These are the diseases, syndromes, illnesses I have BUT, they don’t have me!

• Stiff Person Syndrome
• Lupus
• Fibromyalgia 
• Osteoarthritis 
• Tachycardia 
• Arythmia
• Insomnia
• Parasomnia 
• Hypersomnia (yes you can have both)
• Nomnomnomia ( it’s not a real thing but I eat and drink in my sleep, even dangerous things, I’m well acquainted with poison control 😉)
• Restless Leg Syndrome
• Frontal Lobe Epilepsy ( with damage to my left frontal lobe)
• Depression
• General Anxiety Disorder 
• Social anxiety
• Panic Disorder
• Agoraphobia
• OCD
• ADD

If you have Stiff Person Syndrome you can chat with me or others at:

Facebook: search for “The Original Stiff Person Association”

RareConnect.org – there is a Stiff Person Syndrome community, also a helpful resource for any rare disease.

If you want to find me on any of my other social medias, Twitter: @amyholmanturner and Instagram: a.michelleturner 

If you’ve made it this far I appreciate your support and wish you the best in all your life’s endeavors!

 Do all things with love!