Guess who’s speaking at this year’s Narcolepsy Network Conference in Orlando, Florida? You got it! ME! Oh my.
Let’s flashback to October 2015 shall we? Cue spacey, flashback appropriate sci-fi music…
I was attending the 2015 Narcolepsy Network Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota as a vendor for this website. My goal was to share my story, as well as my family’s story, with conference attendees. People would stop by my booth between sessions but just as the conversation got revved up they would have to scurry off to the next session. Several people stopped by before leaving and asked me “Why aren’t you speaking?”
Well, why wasn’t I? My first thought was “Uh, cuz.” This to be appropriately interpreted as “Because the idea scared me to bits.”
But see, ever since I changed my diet in 2011 and woke up for the first time in my life, I have been challenging myself to get out there and LIVE. Challenging myself to try new things. I fell in love with the saying “Do one thing every day that scares you” by Eleanor Roosevelt. EVERY. DAY.
As I was packing up my vendor booth, I can distinctly recall turning to my friend Katie and saying “Next year I WILL BE a speaker.” I knew in that moment that it would happen even though it scared me to even contemplate.
Cue spacey, flash forward appropriate sci-fi music…
Today, as I write this, I AM a speaker and I’m not scared. AT. ALL. I’m so excited about this that sometimes I have to do deep breathing just to calm the heck down.
Are you coming to the conference? If so, PLEASE make room in your schedule to come sit in on my session “Diet for Narcolepsy – My Family’s Awakening.” I’ll tell you the story of how my FWN (Family with Narcolepsy) uses diet and lifestyle changes to bring us new heights of wakefulness. Sit in on my session and you’ll hear our before and after story, learn about the changes we’ve made, and hear what research led us down this path.
I can’t wait to see you,
Your Madcap Miss (a.k.a. Gina Dennis)
P.S. I’ll also have a booth set up in the vendor area and would love to spend a few moments chatting with you between sessions.
Let me be totally up front here…I AM NOT A DOCTOR, nor am I a nutritionist, I only have a tiny amount of formal training in such things as a Health Coach. But I am a person with narcolepsy who uses dietary and lifestyle changes to mitigate my narcolepsy symptoms. I’ve been experimenting with these changes since July 2011 and have successfully maintained a high level of narcolepsy symptom management since that date. And so has my family with narcolepsy. This website contains our personal stories, failures, and experiments. In this website I will share with you the information that I have found most credible and some practical ideas for mitigating narcolepsy symptoms. I beg you to check with your doctor before initiating any of the dietary changes I speak of, especially if you are taking any medications.
YAY!!!!! Congratulations:-) I want to hear what you have to say and I’m going to talk to my husband about attending the conference if it’s not too late!
Oh I so hope you can come! I’ll cross my fingers for you. If you end up not being able to come, I will be posting the video of my session so you can watch it.
“YES”….. Congratulations :-). Your tenacity to find causes & solutions to your own personal struggles and your compassion to share your discoveries is one of the greatest gifts mankind can gift to the world ! This platform equips us all an opportunity to grow & become more responsible for our individual happiness & health . Thank-you for endeavoring to go the distance & accomplish your priorities . Godspeed 🙂
Oh Mom! You know you have been an inspiration to me. If you hadn’t put in the work, your recovery may not have happened. I just got you started and showed you the way. I love you for all of your support and unconditional love. Kisses and Hugs to you… I SOOOOOO wish you could come this year but I’m thankful that Glenn will be with me and we’ll know you are there for us in spirit.
Congratulations! Wish I could be there to hear you speak. Your enthusiasm is contagious- and you bring hope. Will be there in spirit…
Thank you! I will be sure to take a moment to be thankful for all those folks that have supported me through the years and are there for me in spirit. Wish you could be there.
Awesome!!! I am really hoping to make it to this year’s conference in FL as I have never been to an NN Conference or FL before, and it was been over 22 years since my N dx. I’ll definitely sign up for your session if I make it. I’ve been doing AIP (Paleo Autoimmune Protocol) for over a year since I received my Hashimoto’s thyroiditis dx last August. It is definitely not an easy diet, but absolutely essential for my health. With the AIP diet and the other changes (med changes, stress reduction, lifestyle changes, etc.) that I made in my life, I’ve been able to put my Hashi’s into remission AND manage my symptoms of N better than ever before. Diet was the biggest factor in changing things around for me. None of the other changes I made would have been able to turn things around for me like the AIP diet did.
YAY! So happy you have the Hashi’s under control and that you have the narcolepsy managed. Diet can make such a huge difference, right!?
I hope you get to make it to the conference. I’ll cross my fingers for you.
OMG …that is awesome.. So wish I could be there to hear you . You’ll have to come to Ireland next .. Have a blast . What an amazing successful family story to inspire people xxx
I would love to come to Ireland next. It’s a dream of mine 🙂
My son is recording the session so I’ll be sure to post it for those that couldn’t attend the conference.
Sounds great! From one SUPER hero DFW PWN to another I look forward to it!
LOVE it!