I never expected in a million years that I would have the honor to become an advocate of women's health care and education, and I'd dive on a live grenade to get this message out, so thank you for this forum.

I did as much research as I could and I took ownership of this illness, because if you don't take care of your body, where are you going to live?

In the beginning, when I first found out I had a disease that was incurable, emotionally I had to get used to the idea of being sick before I could think about making any other major decisions in my life.

My family has been amazing, and they understand how blessed I am. They've been able to keep my sense of humor.

When people hear that I have a chronic illness, they'll say things like Focus on you. Well, my spiritual and emotional fulfillment is based not on who I am but on what I can give. Plus, many of my favorite philosophers suggested that self-fulfillment is found through service. Who am I to argue with them?

Happiness is the best cosmetic.

I try to manage my time to conserve energy.

I still when I wake up hit the ground running and having an illness, I'm only one of hundreds of thousands of people that live with an illness, and I'm just in awe of the bravery and dignity of the people I see at the hospital.

Everyone who has sarcoidosis is affected differently.

Concealing an illness is like keeping a beach ball under water.

I don't have feeling in my feet to my fingertips I also have active lesions in my bone marrow and in my eyes.

In a way, I have simplified my life by setting priorities.