Collection: Brooke Strong

For nearly seven years, I’ve battled severe stomach pain, nausea, and exhaustion without answers. Starting in 2020, I went through endless tests, scans, bloodwork, and appointments with eight surgeons. Everything kept coming back “normal,” and I was repeatedly misdiagnosed with bowel issues, food intolerances, Crohn’s, celiac, and eventually anorexia. Being told the pain was “in my head” was devastating, especially when I knew something was truly wrong.

In 2024, after even more testing, I finally had a CT angiogram that revealed the real cause: Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS) — a rare condition where a ligament compresses major arteries and nerves near the stomach. Getting the diagnosis was validating, but finding a surgeon who understood MALS became the next challenge.

Montana had no specialists. I was referred to multiple states, denied by some, and met with surgeons who weren’t familiar with the condition. In Denver, I underwent a celiac plexus block that gave me four weeks of relief — the first time in years I felt somewhat normal. That confirmed I was a good candidate for surgery.

In 2026, I finally found a MALS specialist in Seattle. What was supposed to be a short consult turned into a 3.5‑hour pre‑op evaluation, and surgery was scheduled for August 2026.

MALS affects every part of my life — constant pain, nausea, cramping, and malnutrition. Eating is difficult, I’ve been unable to work for almost two years, and the illness is invisible, making it incredibly isolating.

Now my family and I are preparing for surgery and the financial burden of flights, lodging, food, transportation, and lost wages. Despite everything, I hold onto hope — hope for relief, hope to eat without pain, hope to get my life back.

I’m sharing my story to raise awareness and because after years of not being believed, I finally have answers — and hope.