MEET THE SHINING STARS
VICS
Founder & Director
Co-Chair, Shooting Star, Writer, Editor, Shining Star
Hey! I'm Vics, I am the Founder and Director of MRKH Stars. I'm on the Superstars, Shooting Stars and Writing teams.
I was diagnosed with MRKH in July 2019, and created MRKH Stars in April 2021. My Journey has been far from easy, there have been many bumps in the road, and I am sure there are many more to come!
But I have made some of my best friends because of MRKH and we help each other through all of those bumps, something I'm so grateful to have. I founded Stars to build on that sense of belonging, community and easy access to help, focusing specifically for those MRKHers who are young and newly diagnosed. Stars will always be here for you, we are always only a message away!
TK
Director
Co-Chair, Shooting Star, Shining Star
Hi I'm TK, I am the Director and a part of the Superstars team! I am a Shooting Star to help MRKH Warriors!
I was diagnosed with MRKH on the 8th of October 2019. When these four little letters changed my life it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. My perfect future had changed and I didn't know what I was going to do. Although it has been tough, there has been an amazing community of people to support and guide me through it. Some days are tough but that's okay. I've learnt to love my MRKH and accept that it is my new adventure.
CRYSTAL
Second Star
Shooting Star, Writer, Trustee, Shining Star
Hi! I’m Crystal, I’m on the Shooting Stars and Writing teams. I was officially diagnosed with MRKH in June 2021. My journey started in July 2021, the first couple of weeks were mentally and physically draining. I felt overwhelmed with emotions and so alone however I had this constant need to hide my emotions and pretend it was not real. I didn’t want to live this reality or have people constantly hovering over me asking me if I was okay when I was not, I was drowning inside. Eventually through this beautiful process of growth and acceptance, I am now able to embrace all these emotions and struggles. Every day is completely different for me, new emotions, new struggles, new challenges, it is not easy but it is so worth it! I have changed in so many unimaginable ways. I LOVE who I am now, I am PROUD of who I am now and I cannot wait to further this scary yet exhilarating journey of MRKH.
LILY
Writer, Trustee, Shining Star
I have known that I have MRKH since I was 11 years old, but I didn't know it was called MRKH until March of 2021. I researched and discovered that I have type 2 since I was diagnosed with VACTERL association from birth. Because I was so young, I never really processed everything until a little over a year ago. I am very private about MRKH in my personal life, but I'm using this opportunity of being on the writing team to be more open and start my advocacy journey. I love the immediate sisterhood that is formed between these MRKH warriors and I'm eager to be a part of it. My goal with joining this team is to make sure that new MRKH warriors know they're not alone in their battle because they have an army of sisters behind them to support and cheer them on every step of the way.
MADELINE
Writer, Shining Star
Hi! I am Madeline and I am part of the writing team! l am a 20-year-old college student at The University of Texas at Austin. There I am majoring in biochemistry and am on the pre-med track. I really enjoy hanging out with my friends, exercising, and being outside! I was diagnosed with MRKH in 2017 and ever since I was diagnosed, I knew that I wanted to speak out about MRKH, but I just didn't know how or where. It took me a while to become more comfortable and begin to talk more openly about everything that my diagnosis entailed. Now, I feel like I am at a point where I have come to terms with all that living with MRKH means. I found MRKH Stars on Instagram and looked moreinto the organization. When I realized it was run by young women like myself, I knew that this was the organization for me. I knew that I would be connected to other women who were in similar seasons of their life as I am, and that would promote deeper empathy and understanding for one another.