In 1995, during my second last year of high school, I was hit with severe glandular fever (mononucleosis)—and when I say severe, I mean the most excruciating pain of my life. And that’s saying something considering I’ve had two C-sections, a motorcycle accident, and two tumors removed. It was absolute torture. Eventually, I ended up hospitalized, and back in the '90s, no one really knew what to do about glandular fever. The solution? Take the rest of the year off school and hope for the best.

The next year, I went back to school, thinking I had recovered. But slowly, unexplained symptoms crept in—constant nausea, dizziness, exhaustion, and aching all over. I even passed out multiple times. Doctor after doctor dismissed me, with one even suggesting I must have drunk too much alcohol (helpful, right?). No answers. No solutions. So, I carried on as best I could.

Then came my 18th birthday. I had an amazing party… and then crashed hard. Completely depleted, I passed out, hitting a wall so badly that I tore ligaments in my neck and lost the skin off the entire left side of my face. That was just one of the many times I collapsed, but it left lasting damage.

Things spiraled from there. Eventually, I became completely bedridden. I remember lying in bed, staring at the light switch, knowing I needed to turn it off but feeling like it would take every ounce of strength I didn’t have. My parents installed a remote for me. That’s how bad it got.

And that’s what it took to finally get a diagnosis: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Or more accurately, Post-Viral Syndrome from glandular fever.

I was furious. I thought it was bullshit. I demanded more tests. I refused to accept that this was my reality. Back then, CFS was basically a catch-all diagnosis for "we don’t know what’s wrong with you." But after every test imaginable, the truth was clear: my body had been so wrecked that it couldn’t bounce back. On top of that, I was also diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), which explained why I kept passing out.

But here’s the thing: As much as that time in my life was hell, I wouldn’t change it.

Because through it, I have learned exactly what it takes to not only manage chronic fatigue but to overcome it and live fully. And here’s a spoiler: it’s NOT just “get more rest” (yes, that was an actual doctor’s advice 🙄).

I’ve been through it all—the relapses, the frustration, the hopelessness. But I’ve also:

✔ Graduated high school

✔ Earned undergraduate and graduate degrees

✔ Run large corporate transformation programs with hundreds of staff and helped companies save hundreds of millions of dollars

✔ Built and grown multiple businesses (and still run two today)

✔ Worked with business leaders and teams to achieve more while working less

✔ Raised two amazing kids

✔ Stayed active—yes, I exercise!

✔ Gone on bike rides, travelled for months at a time, and actually enjoyed my life And now, I help business leaders like you do the same.

If you don’t believe it’s possible, I’m proof that it is.

I know what it’s like to feel stuck, exhausted, and utterly trapped by your body. But I also know how to get out of that cycle—and stay out.

Yes the virus was what pushed me over the edge shall we say, but the truth is, chronic fatigue is the culmination of a lot of factors. Work, Life, Mental and Physical.

That's why I now work with individual leaders and organisations not just to manage work and life when fatigue hits, but to put practices in place to prevent it in the first place.