My name is Nix, and I'm a gluten-free, gaming writer. This blog is for me to attempt to combine and reconcile the two aspects of myself.
I was first diagnosed around four years ago, when my quality of life reached its low - I was constantly sick, immensely fatigued, and unable to live my life day to day with any kind of consistency or exuberance. I was forced to take a year off from college in order to try to get healthy again. My parents provided me with immeasurable support and encouragement, taking care of me and paying for specialists in the attempt to discern what was the root of my health problems and to help me get me well enough to finish my degree.
I was told a lot of things by a lot of different doctors - it might be my kidneys, it might be my gallbladder, it was just heartburn, I was depressed, it was all in my head. I reached the point of wanting to be diagnosed with cancer simply if it meant having a diagnosis. I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that as soon as I could put a name to my condition, I would be able to fight it.
Finally, my endocrinologist (an amazing woman to whom I will forever owe my life and any joy that it brings me) put forward the solution that a gastroenterologist, a psychopharmacologist, an allergist, and my GP (to only name a few) had not presented to me - maybe it was gluten intolerance. I went on a gluten-free diet, and immediately saw results. Within three months, I was healthier than I had been for years, with numerous health problems (some of which I had not realized that I had) stabilizing or disappearing. It was incredible. I felt alive and clear-headed for the first time in a much longer period than I initially realized I had been sick. I was able to return to school and graduate, to move out on my own two feet and enter the job market.
I now live and work in Seattle, where I returned to finish school, and delight in greeting each new day that I face clear-headed and nausea-free. I have only just begun to explore the wonderful options that Seattle holds for the gluten-free person, which is one reason that I am starting this blog. This blog is a nudge for me to spread my wings and try new things. I want to keep living my gluten-free life to the fullest - to embrace what I see as my second chance, and to delight in the new offerings that it brings me. I also want to encourage those who are struggling with the lifestyle and need new insights or ideas - or to know that they are not alone.
I am also a gigantic nerd - I delight in comics, tabletop gaming, video games, and ECCC. Seattle is also ripe for those who embrace the life of the miniature enthusiast, Magic player, or comic collector. This blog will also be a way to celebrate this side of myself and of Seattle - as well as a way to seek to combine the two. It will be an exploration of Seattle and of myself - a push to try new things, a revelry in discovery, a celebration of attempt. It's a dangerous business to walk out your front door, as Tolkien notes, but I invite to to do so with me.
Care to join?
