My 20-Year Healing Journey: Living with Epstein-Barr

When I think about my healing journey, I can trace it back to a moment I didn’t even realize would change everything.

🌱 Where It All Began

Back in 2001, I had a boyfriend who came down with mono. At the time, I didn’t know much about it — and I didn’t realize that I caught it from him. I didn’t get diagnosed, didn’t receive medication, and I didn’t even know I was carrying it.

What I didn’t realize then is that untreated mono can develop into Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV).

Looking back, that was the start of everything.

 

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💕 When the Symptoms Appeared

By 2002, I began to notice my energy dropping. I caught every cold and flu around me. If someone near me was sick, I’d get it almost instantly. Exercise left me wiped out — after a few weeks of trying to build a routine, I’d end up in bed with the flu again.

For years, I lived this way. I felt fragile, like my body couldn’t keep up.

 

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✨ Searching for Answers

I went to doctors, but test after test came back “normal.” Nobody could tell me what was wrong. I started to wonder if this was just how my life would be — always tired, always sick, always running on empty.

It wasn’t until 2018, after decades of questions, that my primary doctor finally dug deeper into my bloodwork. That’s when I learned the truth: I had Epstein-Barr Virus, and my numbers were at 220.

 

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This was the beginning of a long road — one that taught me more about resilience, patience, and healing than I ever expected. In the next post, I’ll share the moment I finally received that diagnosis — and what my doctor told me about my future.

With Love,
Jay 🩵💗
Founder of 2 Hearts Wellness & Living