Chaos and Grace: Dr. Liz’s Story of Survival, Strength, and Refusing Limits
What Makes You a Beautiful Disaster?
I have faced death three times in my life.
I lost 100 pounds over the past 14 months, and I’m embracing turning 50 this summer. I’m in love for the first time in 13 years. I have scars. I limp on my right leg.
But I dance with joy in my heart and embrace all of my flaws.
Why Do You Identify with the Beautiful Disaster Brand?
The Siren collection speaks to me.
Grace and chaos.
I am that Siren. I am that Phoenix. I’ve risen above pain and continue sharing love and light with the world.
Beautiful Disaster reminds me that survival and beauty can exist together.
Tell Us Your Beautiful Disaster Story
I was born with an incredibly rare nervous system disorder that occurs in less than one in a million people. There are no support groups, no real online communities, and very few answers.
It’s that rare.
So yes, I joke that I’m basically an X-Men mutation.
I’ve lived with disability my entire life. Even simple tasks like using a pen or cutting fruit with a knife can cause pain or injury.
But I adapted.
I figured it out.
As a child, I was both a dancer and an athlete. Then, at 14 years old, only three weeks into my freshman year of high school, I was hit by a car while riding my bike.
I spent the next three years in and out of wheelchairs, surgeries, and physical therapy.
My athlete days were over.
But instead of giving up, I found theater and adapted dance into my life however I could. My high school theater teacher helped me rediscover confidence and purpose during one of the hardest periods of my life.
Because I was already living with disability, in some ways I was strangely prepared to survive this new normal.
While other teenagers were socializing and living carefree lives, I spent most of my time in physical therapy.
I didn’t have many friends.
College wasn’t even on my radar, and my high school advisor didn’t know what to do with a disabled student with ADHD. So my parents and I figured it out ourselves.
I went from being “that poor girl” to earning two Master’s degrees and eventually a Doctorate degree from USC.
My doctorate research focuses on accessibility for disabled students because I wanted to advocate for others using my own lived experiences.
The bicycle accident was the first time I faced death.
The second time came when I was violently assaulted at 16 years old and left with knife scars across my lower back.
The emotional scars stayed even longer than the physical ones.
But I survived.
Later in college, I became a self-defense instructor and student leader, turning pain into purpose once again.
The third time I faced death came in 2020 during COVID.
I underwent emergency surgery to remove an 8cm tumor and my entire right ovary. Complications during surgery caused severe internal bleeding, and I was rushed back into the operating room.
My hemoglobin dropped dangerously low, and I required four blood transfusions.
I spent six days alone in the ICU while the hospital was under COVID lockdown. My family couldn’t even visit me.
Now I carry scars across both the front and back of my body.
But I’m still here.
And I’m thriving.
In 2024 and 2025, medication changes caused my weight to climb to nearly 290 pounds. I finally sat my medical providers down together and decided enough was enough.
Over the next 14 months, I lost 100 pounds.
I replaced my entire wardrobe and started rebuilding my confidence along with my health.
Beautiful Disaster became part of that transformation.
Your tops hug my curves and remind me that I can still feel feminine, strong, confident, and beautiful exactly as I am.
I’m hiking, dancing, exploring, and living more fully than I ever have before.
Then something unexpected happened.
At a karaoke bar only a mile from my home, I met an incredible man.
For years, I had accepted the idea that maybe love just wasn’t meant for me.
But he found me anyway.
Together, we’ve traveled, explored California, chased waterfalls, gone hiking, visited wineries, and built a life full of joy and adventure.
He even loves my Beautiful Disaster wardrobe — especially my “Chaos and Grace” Siren shirt.
That phrase has become one of my life mantras.
“Chaos and Grace.”
The other?
“Doubt me. I dare you.”
Because every time someone tells me I can’t do something, I become even more determined to prove them wrong.
I may limp.
I may struggle with certain tasks.
But I refuse to let limitations define me.
I’m turning 50 this summer, embracing every silver hair, every scar, every lesson, and every chapter that brought me here.
I may roar loudly, but I do it so people who can barely whisper know someone out there understands them.
That’s what being a Beautiful Disaster means to me.
What Happened for You to Turn It Around?
I stopped focusing on what I had lost and started focusing on what I could still become.
Prioritizing my health, my happiness, and my joy changed everything.
Beautiful Disaster unexpectedly became part of that healing process because the clothing sparked conversations, connection, confidence, and community.
And finding love again reminded me that life still had beautiful surprises waiting for me.
Name 3 Things You’ve Done to Move Closer to Happiness
- Focused on my health and lost 100 pounds
- Embraced both my strength and femininity
- Allowed myself to experience love, adventure, and joy again
What Is Your Favorite Beautiful Disaster Collection, Past or Present, and Why?
The Phoenix and Siren collections are tied for me.
The Phoenix represents rising from tragedy and pain.
The Siren represents embracing both chaos and grace.
My scars and limp may always remain, but they are not what define my legacy.
What defines me is what I chose to become after surviving the fire.