As most of you know, I am quick to share my favorite sporty finds. And while I often ask my interview subjects for beauty and fitness secrets, I tend to stay away from my own personal health routine and issues. I played soccer in college and since my soccer career ended I\u2019ve always stayed pretty physically active (please read about my epic summer injury<\/a> if you haven\u2019t already!) But what I never really talk about is how I maintain my health. One key secret is I take daily supplements from Pure Encapsulations<\/a> to help with some deficiencies and to make sure my body is getting everything it needs to function at its very best.<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t always been a super healthy eater. I definitely have gone through different phases in eating. I\u2019ve counted calories, I\u2019ve tried juicing, and I even accidently became vegetarian when I first moved to New York. But it wasn\u2019t until I found out I have chronic kidney stones that I really had to monitor what I was putting into my body. I also had to tone down how hard I pushed myself while I was going through a ton of testing.<\/p>\n In October of 2013, I spent the weekend in LA helping my friend move. I drove home that Sunday and I definitely didn\u2019t feel wonderful, but I just figured it was a little cold and the culmination of being over-served<\/em> at the bar the night before. As I got back to San Diego, I ran a couple of errands to prepare for my own move that was coming up and hit the sack. I woke up around 3 AM shaking so violently that I could barely get to my phone. I knew I had a fever but I had never shaken that violently before so I was really scared.<\/p>\n I waited about an hour before I decided I needed help. I tried calling my parents but neither of them were picking up the phone so I made the decision to call 911. It felt silly but I knew something was very wrong. When the paramedics got there they helped me out of bed and to the couch where they found my vitals to be incredibly off, to the point where I needed to go to the hospital. Finally my mom responded and came to meet me.<\/p>\n At the hospital they administered fluids and antibiotics but we had to wait until the morning for my test results. It came back pretty early that morning that I had gone septic. My heart was pumping toxic blood to all of my organs. I had a serious infection. After several more rounds of IV antibiotics, they were able to get my vitals stable and I was able to go home. My nephrologist kept a close eye on me and it was determined that I had a kidney infection that I let go for too long and that\u2019s how I ended up with blood poisoning.<\/p>\n I spent the next 15 days in bed at my mom\u2019s house and missed my Big 12 Championship reunion at Colorado. I was super happy to be on the mend but disappointed that I didn\u2019t listen to my body and let it get that sick.<\/p>\n