Hello! I’m Amanda Dreher. Several years ago, you would have found me behind a podium in the courtroom as an Assistant District Attorney. But then, one Saturday in late December 2013, I woke up dizzy – and life has never been the same. I stopped working in May 2014 and was finally diagnosed with chronic (and severe) vestibular migraine, persistent postural-perceptual dizziness, and cervicogenic dizziness. It felt like a cruel joke – the hardest thing for me to do because of constant dizziness was to read and write, and that is such a big part of being an attorney.

Since that day in 2013, I have stumbled through the process of accepting and adapting to life with a chronic illness. In that time, I’ve had two kids and continued as a volunteer leader in my community. I live in a 125+ year old home in a suburb of Rochester, New York and am married to Mike, also an attorney and my biggest supporter. I am in my early 40s and embrace being a minivan-driving xennial.

Every day I continue to learn how best to manage my illness. I am reimagining life with a chronic illness, and I look forward to this next chapter. Thanks for being here!

Photo by Natalie Sinisgalli of NSP Studio