After Devastating Diagnosis, Brookline Mother's Anger Turns to 'Savory' Living

In 2008, Brookline resident Sue Levy received a devastating diagnosis.

Levy, who considered herself healthy and whose family history had no red flags, was diagnosed with Pulmonary Lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or LAM, at the age of 37. The disease features muscle-like cells that can grow out of control in organs like the lungs. There's no cure, and the disease gets progressively worse.

Levy shared her story with WBUR. You can listen to her talk about her diagnosis in the audio player above.

"In the beginning I needed to live in the worst-case scenario," she told WBUR. "(But) I stopped being angry at my LAM and I stopped hiding it from everybody. And the moment I did that and I was able to say I have this disease, it’s a part of me, I’m going to embrace it, and I’m going to see where it takes me."

Levy, a married mother of two children, quit her marketing job and followed her passion by starting Savory Living, a nutrition company that provides online nutrition coaching and healthy eating classes.

"I’m so thankful for the LAM," she said. "(The disease) got me to say what do I want life to be while I’m blessed enough to be here and I’m going to go after it."