Episode #55 with Katherine DiBona

The Swinging Palm Trees Podcast

On today's episode, I chat with Katherine Dibona about her life and hidden health conditions.
She shares how she was medically misdiagnosed since the age of 17 up until recent years when she found out has non radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. She also goes into detail the medical challenges she has had to face with Medical pracitioners and experts, being medically gaslit, gender bias, medical insurance in America, in particuar In-Network Insurance.
Yet, despite all the struggles Katherine has faced, we also celebrate her successes in life, her passion for Ballet and what she teaches her students, the importance of mindset and conditioning, and why the actor Alan Alda is special to her. And of course, we talk about the quotes and adages that continually inspire her.
Katherine DiBona had a happy, healthy childhood growing up outside of Boston,
Massachusetts, USA. An involved student and ballerina, she had dreams of
entering the medical profession. Everything was on track…until it wasn’t. A week
after her 17th birthday she became sick with an unknown viral infection and
never fully recovered. What ensued was almost 20 years of pain, fatigue, and
dismissals by healthcare providers while searching for answers. It wasn’t until
age 34 that she received a diagnosis of Non-Radiographic Axial
Spondyloarthritis: an auto-inflammatory condition that affects joints, eyes,
hormones, the GI tract, etc. and can severely impact quality of life.
Katherine learned the hard way that the U.S. healthcare system isn’t all that it’s
cracked up to be. Instead of a career in medicine, she became a full-time patient,
struggling through college and beyond until finally seeing some improvement in
her mid-30s. Katherine shares the lessons she’s learned along the way in her
journey toward a new version of a happy, healthy life with a chronic invisible
illness.
**Please be aware that due to technical issues during recording, some of the interview has electrical interferences which could not be resolved, so please lower the volume while listening. My sincere apologies and I hope you still enjoy the episode.**
Thanks for listening to the episode. I'd like to thank my guest for their time, insight and being a great sport!
I would also like to thank my producer, Ashanti Omkar, for all her hard work.
If you'd like to be a guest, drop me a line at [e-mail].
Keep Rising & Thriving. Aṣẹ!