I group chat with my NMO peeps all day.

I’m like, girl, I am exhausted. She’s like, girl, I’m exhausted too. She’s like, girl, I just ordered some magnesium rub. I’m like, girl, send me the link.” That’s Marion Jones (@_theothermj) at last year’s Wellness Week(end), and honestly that moment had the whole room laughing because every single person in there knew exactly what she was talking about. But before the laughter, Marion shared something deeper. She talked about the friend who became her first caregiver by default, the one who told her to go to the ER after she’d been nursing a headache for weeks. She talked about being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, spending time in the ICU, going through plasma pheresis, and being released from rehab unable to prepare a meal for herself. For a year, most of her days were spent bedridden. And what got her through wasn’t just treatment. It was people. The ones who showed up without being asked and loved on her through the hardest season of her life. That’s what she came to Wellness Week(end) to talk about: the power of chosen family. She said, “Nothing against my biological family, who I love, but there’s something about the chosen family in the autoimmune disease space because they’re people who speak your language.” That’s what this event is. It’s a room full of women who don’t need you to over-explain, who already know why today was hard, and who will send you the magnesium rub link without you having to ask twice. Wellness Week(end) 2026 is October 30 through November 1 at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead. Be in the room. Comment TICKET and we’ll send you the link. #WeAreILLMatic #WellnessWeekend2026 #ChronicIllnessCommunity #MSCommunity #NMOSDAwareness