ABOUT
Hi, I'm Hillary
A travel enthusiast, avid photographer, and an open book about my medical journey, I’m here to share what I’ve learned and inspire you along the way.
Like many of you, I navigate life with multiple rare autoimmune and chronic diseases. These conditions share a common thread: inflammation. But that doesn’t have to stop us from living fully.
Join me as I share our incredible travel experiences, including tips on finding safe places to eat with allergies and food intolerances. Each meal becomes an exciting adventure due to my food sensitivities.
Mobility challenges and fatigue are part of our journey, too. I’ll share how we plan and manage travel to account for these symptoms, ensuring we still explore new destinations and encounter amazing sights.
Despite the hurdles, my family and I continue to embrace the joy of discovering new places, proving that life with chronic conditions can still be filled with wonder and adventure.
About the Hearts & Beaches Family
Let me introduce you to our extraordinary bunch!Â
Now, there’s quite a significant age gap between David and our adorable girls. You see, my battle with inflammation led to the development of PCOS, a condition I’ll delve into in future posts. We weren’t certain if we would ever have more children. But thanks to finding hormonal balance, we now have the delightful duo of M. and C.
Unfortunately, they’ve also inherited some of the food allergies and sensitivities that run in our family—some of which are even more restrictive than my own!
Luckily, we’ve been blessed to connect with exceptional specialists who guide us through the maze of conditions and food-related challenges we face.
Traveling as a family brings us immense joy, even though we have to meticulously plan ahead to accommodate my and the girls’ dietary needs. Our ultimate goal is to enlighten and inspire other families, showing them that life can still be embraced to the fullest despite rare medical conditions and their accompanying symptoms. By sharing our experiences, we aim to offer a glimpse into a world where adventure and autoimmune diseases can coexist harmoniously.
Our site, Hearts & Beaches, serves as a treasure trove of captivating stories about our escapades in food, travel, lifestyle, and finances. In addition to our personal anecdotes, my husband Steve and I will be diving into the medical knowledge we’ve acquired along the way. We’ve noticed intriguing patterns and similarities between these inflammatory conditions—how they manifest, the challenges they present, and the shared experiences they bring about. Through sharing what we’ve learned and how we navigate this intricate web, we hope to equip other families with invaluable best practices and insights.
So come on, join us on this incredible journey! Together, let’s defy the odds, create unforgettable memories, and master the art of living our best lives, one adventure at a time.
STEVE
With a graduate degree in Psychology, Steve is our family's medical journal article decipherer. He is the health advocate that is always there for me, through my most difficult days and multiple doctor appointments.Â
David
David is our oldest and is graduating from college this May. He's not always on our trips, but he often travels with us, when he can.
M.
M. is our girl of many talents. She loves writing fiction stories, while also being passionate about editing Wikipedia articles to match the Style Guide. She is a budding botanist and general nature-girl.
C.
C. is interested in all things colors, colored pencils, and watercolor. She's also a big fan of building in Minecraft.
Pic from when she was 18 months old.
