Hi! I’m Cricket.
Good Zookeeper is where I write about learning how to care for myself while living with chronic illness, hormonal chaos, and a nervous system that’s been through some things.
I’m working on being the best possible “zookeeper” for myself that I can be.
From the time I was fairly young, I knew that something about how my body functioned was different from the other kids.
I didn’t know what was going on, and doctors didn’t, either. I was diagnosed with all sorts of wild things that never really fit.
Ultimately, what most doctors ended up telling me was “just lose weight.”
Not super helpful, honestly, because even in my early teens I was already trying to do that.
By the time I was in my mid- and late-twenties, I had a laundry list of symptoms and no patience with the medical community at all.
One doctor, who gets no cookies for this and you’ll eventually hear why if you stick around, looked at my list and immediately gave me a diagnosis: PCOS.
This was the mid-90s and there was absolutely no help at all.
Thankfully, so much more is understood today about PCOS and about helping people with PCOS to have a better quality of life, overcome infertility challenges, and feel healthier.
Recently, I’ve added some acronyms to the pile with CKD, or chronic kidney disease, perimenopause, and pre-diabetes. I’m doing the best I can to take the best care of myself, or be a good zookeeper, by doing all the things:
- paying attention to nutritional needs
- offering myself enrichment
- keeping my “enclosure” clean
- getting enough physical activity
- and so much more
If you’re navigating chronic illness, burnout, or just learning how to take better care of yourself, I’m really glad you’re here.
