b'illness. But had I not gone through what I did,them do it, too, made the atmosphere so much Id probably be the same old Hannah, whofun. It would not have gone well if I were asked didnt speak up for herself and just went withto teach anything else, Hannah said. the ow of things. Whats worse is at the startWhile instructing groups at the Paint and Sip, of seeing doctors, they couldnt tell me anyHannah arrived at a professional crossroads, morethanIcouldmyself;someofthem,deciding between her then-current routine even my PCP, doubted my symptoms and alland seeming destiny. I thought that if I was of that pushed me to research on my own. going to be happy in life, I needed to strive for Eventually, it was time well spent becausethings that innately produce joy from within. what I read about was much later conrmedI had been a medical coder for a few years, by physicians. Advocacy is a term heard a lotand if Im honest, it did have its perks and morethesedays withinourcommunity;Iconvenience. That experience helped enhance didnt think to use that word then, but thatsmy comprehension during the diagnosis process. what I did for myself, she said.But in that job, delight was absent most of the The art of disease management time; it drained my soul, and I couldnt go on Subconsciously under the impression thatthat way, so I chose to close that chapter and herlifedemandedmorecolor,acollegebegin anew with art, she said.friend helped Hannah land her rst teachingI learned to work smarter, not harder. I job at a local company where customers camehadaprivateartstudiothat,betweenmy to relax and try painting, thus confrontingcondition and the good old Texas humidity, I and conquering her introverted tendencies.moved out of. The heat intolerance would kick At rst, the idea was daunting because I hadin, and the next thing I knew, I was wiped out a huge fear of public speaking and talking towhen I got there. Eventually, I decided to give strangers; as I said earlier, I was always a re- it up because if I was too fatigued to function, served person growing up, but working thereI couldnt make new art in the rst place, shattered my shell after a while. Not only didHannah said.I get used to conversing with people I didntAfter Hannahs process changed, she know, but the classes were easy to teach be- recognized how complementary arts therapeutic cause of my background and passion. Doingaspects were to disease management. As I what I loved with others present and helpingdrew or painted things, I became so lost in 37 msfocusmagazine.org'