My Autoimmune Diagnosis - May, 2020

I originally posted this video on my Instagram in May of 2020. I had never publicly spoken about my diagnosis of Hashimotos Thyroiditis until this moment. Since the video was posted, I have felt empowered to talk openly about my health and have made amazing connections with other people from all walks of life over the topic of health and autoimmune disease. I have learned so much more about how to treat my disease and live with it as a professional cyclist, making this video a bit out-dated but still a great reminder of where we all begin! I am simply re-posting this old video for reference sake as I plan to share more videos like this in the future.

Thank you, as always, for watching!

Video originally posted on Instagram on May 29th, 2020 with the caption:
I have gone back and forth on whether or not to share this video for days now. I finally came to the decision to go forward with it for one reason in particular:
My experiences will always be mine. I can’t change whether or not I have experienced them in their entirety. But what I can change is whether or not people can learn from my experiences and mistakes, and maybe help themselves as a result. I can’t change my truth but I can help others with theirs.
By choosing to omit this huge part of my life from my ‘story’ I am doing myself a disservice by carrying this burden; and I am doing others a disservice by preventing that connection over shared struggles and shared resources and support.
I hadn’t been ready to share this story until I realized that by not doing so I was preventing myself from growing and moving onto a better path.
For anyone what’s wanted to know what’s gone on with me since 2018 (and long before), here it is. All I ask is that you listen to the whole story before passing judgement.
Be well. -- Ellen

[Travisty]

“I want to get to the person that I was meant to be next.”

Beautiful!

Thank you for sharing, Ellen!

[cindyleduc]

Your Dad is right this is the new normal... Cancer x2 and now an autoimmune disease... Seems like 5 steps forward and 10 back on days.... But this is what it is is... Keep moving forward

[tfrancis]

I dropped IG shortly after lockdown; this is the first time I've regretted it. You're even more of a hero than you were before. Thanks.

[KevinBratetic]

Thank you for sharing! You are not a long. My son is a junior cx racer and is fighting a autoimmune disease called EOE. It’s been a fight but he is working through it and will be the hero of his journey! Thank you for putting this out there.

[karlkrzok]

Thank you so much for posting this, I have been wondering about what happened to you.

My fondest memory of you is from a few years ago here in Rochester at the cyclocross race. I had my friends daughter Chloe who was about 4 at the time with me and she was riding along side the tape as you were starting a practice lap and I told her "try and beat her to the corner" and you slowed down a bit and let her "win." As you passed you told her what a great job she did and gave her a wave. That, and a LOT of JPow videos, taught me what a great person you are.

On the surface we may not seem a lot alike with me being a 54 year old guy, but I feel your pain, somewhat literally. This past summer I started feeling pain in my legs and back that eventually turned excruciating. I too went to doctors and had them look at me and shrug, and after 4 months of getting worse I was at the point that I had to plan if I wanted to go to the bathroom or to the kitchen to get something to eat, I couldn't do both without taking a rest. I looked at my 6 bikes and started thinking how much they were worth because I was sure I was going to sell them and never ride again. And I looked at all my pictures from all the hiking trips and vacations I had been on and thought "well I'll never be able to do that again." I was crushed, physically and mentally. But finally about a month ago a doctor was able to tell me what was wrong with my spine so now I have some hope. I can get up and walk around and starting next week I will try to go to the gym so I can walk on a treadmill. I will see how it goes. I am optimistic enough that just this morning I made reservations for a 3 week vacation in the Rockies this summer.

I remember how well you handled the whole sports bra/body shaming thing a few years ago, so I know you are an intelligent, articulate person. And now that you know what your health issue is, at least that is a relief. I know how huge it was for me. You were never going to race your bike for your entire life, so maybe you just have to fast forward yourself 10 years. You said it yourself, “I want to get to the person that I was meant to be next.”

Something that was said to me by my soccer coach in high school still pops into my head 37 years later. "Anything easy isn't worth a damn." (Thanks Mr. Calandra!) There will be challenges along the way, but that is what makes you the unique, special person you are. And no matter what you do in life, there will always be an old man and a little girl cheering you on.

[brijlunine]

You have such an enlightened view of your disease and what means. Super impressive. Best of luck! No matter what happens you'll be smart as hell and clearly a badass cyclist with so much proven success.

[rolldabonz]

Go Ellen! I´m a new cyclocross fan thanks to you and JPow. I wish you the best and hope to see you racing soon again. Take care.

[leroybrown]

Thank you for sharing. Greetings from Germany.

[vivekrbs]

Good luck Ellen . AI issues are hard and I really hope your lifestyle changes solve those issues for you.

[jnavarra]

I hate this feeling. It took me a while to recover after those same feeling.

[Thinkforyourselves]

How much does nutrition play in your recovery?

[머쓸이]

What were your symptoms when you wondering what was wrong with your body?

[mads]

I love you so much and I will always look up to you forever no matter what happened you are the strongest person I know and I will always mountain bike because of you and your inspiration. I love you and I can’t wait to meet you again! ( ps the photo of you and me is still up of my wall and I am still where the Jersey you gave me) 😍❤️❤️❤️