I didn’t choose chronic illness — it chose me at 15, in the middle of a hockey dream I was still growing into.
One day I was training like a future pro. The next, I was in bed, screaming from inflammation no one could explain. Psoriatic arthritis hijacked my body before I ever fully lived in it. That was the start of a lifelong fight — not just with pain, but with identity, invisibility, and isolation.
Most people never knew.
I looked fine. I learned to fake it well.
On the surface, I was an athlete. A class clown. A sales rep. A guy who could grind.
Underneath, I was quietly falling apart.
Relationships cracked under the pressure. Careers collapsed.
And for a long time, I thought I might, too.
But Pain Didn’t End Me — It Reshaped Me
Over time, I stopped asking “why me?” and started building a life around what I could control.
Pain stripped me bare. But it also revealed what mattered.
Movement. Mental discipline. Remote work. Boundaries. Honest self-talk.
These weren’t lifestyle tweaks — they were survival systems.
I rely on nightly stretching, steam therapy, and a remote-first workflow to stay functional. I still live at a 6/10 most days, but I’ve trained myself to operate in the tension between pain and purpose.
Why I Built This Site
This isn’t a blog.
It’s an escape route.
For people with invisible pain, trying to stay afloat in a world that doesn’t see them.
For anyone staring at the ceiling at 3AM, wondering if they’ll ever get their life back.
I write under the pen name Lior Vale, which means “my light in a quiet valley.”
It’s a name I chose to protect my privacy — and to honor what pain gave me: clarity, purpose, and the quiet strength to keep going.
This space is for the ones still fighting.
Built from pain. Driven by purpose.
You’re not alone here.
Ready to start building your own systems?
Read my daily routine for living at a 6/10 with chronic pain
