Meet your Fellow
Warriors
Sadie + Buddy
Sadie Veselka was diagnosed at age 4 with MCTD including Juvenile Arthritis, Scleroderma, Dermatomyocitis and Raynaud’s. She loves spreading hope and cheer! Read about her here.
Kris
Kris was born with complex hereditary spastic paraplegia. In 2015, he was diagnosed with RA. This neuro + auto-immune warrior Dad loves being creative and being a Card Crew member.
Fuschia
Fuschia Kempen was diagnosed at age 5 with Gastroparesis, POTS, Panhypopituitarism, and Raynaud’s. She knows the isolation that illness can bring. Follow her on IG here.
Monica
Monica is a mom, Navy wife, crafting maven and avid card maker – it’s very therapeutic! She lives with Psoriatic Arthritis, psoriasis, anaphylaxis, and Fibro. Find her on IG here.
Claire
meet claire
Katrina's Lucy
Katrina created the art work for our May the Fur card. The day we mailed them, she had to say good-bye to her beloved Lucy, who was the inspiration for the dog on it. She’s on IG here.
Erin
Erin is an illness/pain warrior who suffers from CRPS, Fibro and a host of other illnesses that caused her to become disabled at age 38. Connect here.
Angelica+Colby
Angelica and Colby are a team… together they battle a multitude of illnesses including JIA. You can find her on IG here.
Hannah + Nala
Nala is Hannahs’ second service dog who helps her navigate life with rare disease. You can find her on IG here.
Dani+Rhubarb
Dani is a butch lesbian who lives in Melbourne, Australia. They have CFS and Fibro. Rhubarb always keeps her smiling. Say hi on IG here.
Katrina + Otis
Katrina is a warrior artist who lives with narcolepsy and other challenges. She is pictured here with her beloved Otis, who was the inspiration for the corgi in our card. Find her on IG here.
Naomi
Naomi Gilchrist was diagnosed at age 13 with hEDS, Severe M.E (with secondary complications) as well as chronic migraines. She is mostly bed bound at this time. Meet her here.
Denise
Since 1990, Denise Brown has been helping caregivers after caring for her father and then her mother, who lived with multiple medical conditions. She founded Caregiving Years Training Academy in 1996.
Laura
Laura Anthony, RN, spent her professional career caring for dialysis patients before leaving to navigate her three teens through diagnosis and treatment of their chronic medical conditions.
Dawn
Dawn Veselka has been navigating her daughter’s complex medical condtions for the past 14 years and knows the challenges of caring for a child with invisible illness.
Sadie K.
At age 10, Sadie was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) an invisible illness that causes incredibly painful headaches. She loves musical theatre and cats!
Jess
Jess Albert was 27 when she developed a rare migraine condition called New Daily Persistent Headaches (NDPH). It took 4 years and 4 neurologists to get her diagnosis. Meet her here.
Debra
Debra Hallisey cared for her ill father and then her disabled mother. She founded Advocate for Mom and Dad to help guide others who are thrown into the caregiving role!
Amanda
Amanda Phillips (Mandy) was diagnosed at age 15 with hEDS, POTS, Gastroparesis, Sjögren’s Syndrome and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. Find this college student on IG here.
Dianne
A lover of horror movies and Stephen King novels, Dianne lives with Lupus, RA and APS (antiphospholipid syndrome). Nothing scares this fierce warrior anymore! Follow on IG here.
Kat
Kat knows how spooky daily debilitating migraines can be… so she writes children’s books to help them through hospital stays and scary procedures! She’s @xokat on IG here.
Audrey
Halloween is Audrey’s favorite holiday and the spookier the better! Kinda like life with multiple chronic illnesses, which Audrey knows all too well. Connect with her on IG here.
Michele
Michele Frank lives with Hashimoto’s and Fibromyalgia, along with multiple undiagnosed conditions. She knows the challenges of trying to get answers!
Patty
After caring for her father for years, Patty knows the challenges of being a caregiver for a parent and being an illness warrior!
Arianna
Over the past 6 years, Arianna Anthony has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease, Sjögren’s Syndrome, Gastroparesis and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Meet her here.
Milo
Milo is a Canadian non-binary trans person (they/them) who lives with Interstitial Cystitis, Dysautonomia, Thalassemia Minor, ADHD, and more. They are On IG here.
Llinos
meet Llinos
Terra
Terra is a ME CFS warrior and advocate. She lives in New Zealand with her partner, pet bunnies and rat. You can find her on IG here.
Maika
Maika is our fave elf because she LOVES Christmas!
She makes gorgeous cards as a distraction from the extreme pain of Sapho Syndrome. Say hi on IG here.
Tina
Tina was diagnosed with IPF in 2019 and recieved a double lung transplant in 2022. Wife, mom of 2, Grandma of 2. Can’t wait for Halloween!
Holly
meet Holly
Aubrey
meet Aubrey
Addison
meet Addison
Kayleigh
meet Kayleigh
Holly
meet Holly
Karissa
meet Karissa
Get Involved
There are several ways that you can be involved with cards2warriors.org.
- You can nominate a chronic illness warrior or caregiver that you know could use a little sunshine in their life. We will review submissions and send happy mail to as many as we can.
- Make a donation that will go toward the cost of printing and postage.
- You or your company can sponsor an event! We will highlight your business on our site and include your logo on the cards and envelopes we send out.