WHO I AM

My name is Alyssa Alves. I am 41 years old, female and pure Portuguese. I was 'sort of' diagnosed with Sarcoidosis almost 2 years ago. I'll explain the 'sort of' later. I've lived in Kauai, Hawaii since 1992. Kauai is a small island of about 50,000 residents. I have a strong relationship with my parents including co-owning a small business and a 11 year relationship with my best friend and partner, Mario. I was athletic at a young age and never broke a bone or struggled with childhood illnesses like earaches or allergies. I supposedly had a bout of Mononucleosis in my teenage years but it wasn't confirmed at the time. In 1996, I developed Alopecia Areata (unexplained hair loss) along with fatigue, dry cough, fever and overall shittyness. It took six months for me to go to the doctor. By that time, I had a swollen lymph on the side of my neck and was evaluated for Lupus. They treated me for hair loss, biopsied the lymph and all tests were negative. Coincidentally, after that damn lymph came out, I felt better than i had in 6 months and continued to enjoy good health. I always considered myself healthy even though I drank too much wine and smoked for 15 years. I ate all the right foods, built my own house, ran a few businesses and led life the way I wanted. I never took too much for granted and got regular naturopathic care. Life was good until May 24th, 2007.