Hi, Loved Ones, Friends, Family. Thank you for coming by. Your care and support mean so much.

Today, I am reaching out with vulnerability and hope as I take the next step in my life-changing journey - aware that my little babbling brook is just one of many tributaries dancing their way to the grand ocean - Each of us have come a long way through hard things and have had to find the resiliency and trust to keep moving forward.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and the particular road I am on.

For nearly two decades, I’ve poured my heart into helping others heal. As a therapist, coach, teacher, and guide, I’ve dedicated my life to walking people home to themselves — through trauma, heartbreak, growth, and transformation.

But this isn’t just my profession. It’s also been my personal journey.

I grew up in a household where body shame and disordered relationship to food was inherited. By age 17, I was hospitalized for a life-threatening eating disorder. And while I fully recovered — never relapsing once — the pendulum swung hard. Within the next three years, I gained over 100 pounds.

I spent the following decade yo-yoing, struggling to find stability in my body, drowning in the confusing intersections of "health" and "dis-ease". Until 2017, when I made a powerful, intentional choice to reclaim my health, happiness, and a body that can hike and dance and play more easefully. Along with working with health and nutrition coaches and making significant lifestyle changes to my movement, stress, and eating, I underwent a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, paired with deep inner work — intuitive eating, embodiment, and self-compassion. Slowly but steadily, I've lost over 110 pounds and gained freedom I didn't even know was possible. And I’ve kept the weight off (and the joy on!) for nearly 10 years — something only a small percentage achieve. (Between 30-75% of patients gain significant weight back within 2-6 years).

But here’s the truth most people don’t talk about:

Even after all that healing, my transformation still feels incomplete.

Because I carry the physical remnants of where I used to be — in the form of excess skin that doesn’t reflect the strong, vibrant woman I’ve become.

The emotional toll is real. So is the physical discomfort. My torso is hidden beneath folds of abdominal skin that make wearing pants extremely uncomfortable. Shirts are even harder - while my waist is a size small, the loose skin on my arms nearly doubles their circumference, forcing me into oversized clothing. And despite the best anti-chafing products and compression bras, my severely sagging chest makes vigorous exercise painful.

It may sound trivial, but it impacts everything, not just my appearance — my confidence, my mobility, my quality of life, my ability to fully step into the woman I already am on the inside. Ultimately, the further into my journey I get, the worse the skin gets. No amount of exercise or firming creams or rolling tools can remove it.

After consulting with doctors, I’ve been recommended for three procedures, some of which may be able to be completed together: a brachioplasty (arm lift), abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), and a breast lift (without augmentation, as I am not comfortable with the idea of implants). These procedures are about alignment, liberation, and finally closing a chapter that’s long overdue.

Insurance won’t cover it. And the cost is significant.

I’m asking for your help. Every dollar raised will go directly toward covering the surgery, follow-up care, and recovery costs so I can truly feel the weight lifted.

I’ve done the work — inside and out. I’ve helped hundreds of others rise. And now, I’m asking for the support to rise even more fully myself.

To everyone who’s supported me so far on my life's path, thank you for believing in me, cheering me on, and celebrating me - you’re a huge part of how I got here.

If you feel moved to contribute, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support will go toward surgery, recovery, and reclaiming a body that reflects the power, peace, and pride I feel within. And if you can’t give, thank you for your love in all the other ways you show it. Whether big or small, you've already changed my life just by being in it.

Here’s to shedding what no longer serves — and stepping boldly into the next chapter.

With gratitude,

Anya