Jill Woodworth

In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Alexis Minnaar, an English and Geography teacher from South Africa, and young adult living with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex shares the process of coming to terms with having TSC and learning how to manage the condition herself. When she left home and entered college, living away from home for the first time and studying and working, she describes feeling overwhelmed with this realization "like I got hit with a ton of bricks". Her system for tracking manageable variables in several different journals is really interesting and a positive outcome of struggling hard to accept the monumental challenges TSC case management can present. At a time when most young adults are exploring the freedoms of independence, Alexis had to learn to completely avoid caffeine closely monitor her diet, minimize any alcohol consumption, avoid overexertion during exercise and pay attention to her stress levels. Starting off in a Montessori school, she learned to read and write and from quite an ear