248: What if an invisible disease blew up your life?

After surviving a chaotic and abusive upbringing, a woman develops an undiagnosable autoimmune disorder that threatens to take her vision and her livelihood, but when a friend brings a blow-up doll to play a practical joke one night, everything changes. Today’s episode featured Gina Hessburg. You can find out more about her and Rafael on Instagram @blowinguprafael or on her website, blowinguprafael.com. On the website, you can also buy Gina’s book, Blowing Up, featuring her journey with Rafael. Gina is offering listeners to This Is Actually Happening $10 off her book if you use the code HAPPENING. $5 of each sale goes towards organizations that provide patient support and research for treatments for people like Gina. Content/Trigger Warnings:  domestic abuse, mention of suicide, medical trauma, explicit language Producer: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Social Media:Instagram: @actuallyhappeningTwitter: @TIAHPodcastThis Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/ Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comWebsite for Andrew Waits: www.andrdewwaits.com Wondery Plus: All episodes of the show prior to episode #130 are now part of the Wondery Plus premium service. To access the full catalog of episodes, and get all episodes ad free, sign up for Wondery Plus at https://wondery.com/plus Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happening Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: https://www.thisisactuallyhappening.com/shop to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop.  Transcripts: Full transcripts of each episode are now available on the website, thisisactuallyhappening.com Intro Music: "Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed: “Cylinder Four/Five” – Chris Zabriskie ServicesIf you or someone you know is struggling with the effects of trauma or mental illness, please refer to the following resources. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)Crisis Text Line: Within the US, text HOME to 741741See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.