I am Sara Bennett

My name is Sara Bennett. I am 37. I am a mom of two boys, they are 5 and 7. I live in Columbus, Ohio with them and my husband, Rusty, and my dog, Grif. Prior to my symptoms, I was a full time high school Social Studies teacher for 15 years. I was a club advisor and a swim coach, I served on the board of a suicide prevention non-profit. I owned a small business: I helped people get organized. I loved yoga, dancing in my kitchen, and always considered myself an advocate for others.

I was diagnosed in March of 2023, exactly a year after my onset of symptoms. Since my diagnosis, I’ve been forced to retire from teaching. My everyday life is upside down. The one thing that remains the same, is the love and support that I have and give to family and friends. The biggest adjustment is my loss of independence.

My response to being diagnosed was complicated, and in some ways I was relieved because we finally had an answer for why I continued to get worse. This allowed me to plan, communicate, and take appropriate steps for my family. At the same time, I was absolutely devastated. It’s one of the worst diagnoses I could have ever imagined.

In the last few months, I’ve had to rethink how I’m going to use my time and energy. I’m rebranding my organizing business “The Ananda Edit” to “The Ananda Pivot.” In order to have joy, sometimes you have to shift gears. As I become more disabled, it’s been important to me to find adaptive tools. My social media platform allows me to share these resources for those who have similar challenges. I’ve always been social and the hardest part of this disease is the loss of my voice. This platform gives me an opportunity to talk about anything I want, until I can’t anymore. @theanandapivot