I am racing the JBC Tri to raise awareness that healing from mental illness is possible. In 2009, during a trip to Disney World, one of my children had an acute onset of panic, phobia, and irrational fears. My other child developed ADHD and OCD shortly after.  We assumed they had inherited the family legacy of mental illness, but their illnesses were unrelenting and they progressed with such severity we thought we may lose one of them to suicide.  In 2015, we discovered that they both had PANS/PANDAS.  With proper treatment, they began to heal in ways I had never thought possible. As I learned more about PANS/PANDAS, I realized in horror that this is also what I suffered from. In 1992, I was a Division I, All American swimmer when I had an onset of anxiety and acute depression.  My mental health struggles forced me to leave my sport, my college, and plunged me into two decades of searching for answers and healing.  When I  learned about my children’s illnesses, I found the puzzle piece I had been missing. I ran towards healing my body and at age 40 I finally found true healing -  in ways I had never before experienced. I will spend the rest of my life sharing what I have learned - that the body can heal the brain - and the brain can heal the body. These immune mediated neuropsychiatric disorders (such as PANS/PANDAS) are far more prevalent than we think . No one should have to live in the shame, shadow and pain of mental illness. We all deserve to heal - no one deserves to suffer. The JBC Fund is critical in raising this awareness and I am excited to get back in the water to support them!