Heather Corini (formerly Aspell) is a visual storyteller, artist, and patient advocate. She currently lives in Campbell, California with her three adorable, almost TikTok famous cats: Delilah, a sweet 13 year old black cat, and 2 rambunctious kittens born in April 2023, Julius (a goofy flame point siamese) and Juniper (a love bug tortie). (For those wondering, she recently lost her beloved cat Samson, who you can read more about here, and see Instagram posts of here. )

Chronic Health Issues & Treatments

Heather has lived as a medical mystery with multiple complex chronic illnesses since childhood. Her symptoms began as kid, but she was misdiagnosed with “growing pains” (a common misdiagnosis in those days) until at 17 she finally saw a rheumatologist who knew she had autoimmune issues and started her on medication. Her precise diagnosis has changed many many times over the years, in part because her doctors think she likely has multiple systemic autoimmune/ autoinflammatory diseases (see Hickam's dictum) and also because her current primary conditions are best classified as rare diseases: Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (also referred to in adults as Still's Disease), and Dermatomyositis (which she was diagnosed with much later, in her thirties.) In addition, she also lives with numerous secondary related conditions including portal hypertension with varices due to nodular regenerative hyperplasia (an autoimmune liver disease), a chronic pelvic fracture resulting from steroid induced osteoporosis, endometriosis, a chronic CMV infection she has only recently shaken, migraines, inflammatory spondylitis, probable gastroparesis and related motility issues (made impossible to accurately diagnosis due to narcotic pain medication), IBD arising from her systemic autoimmune and auto inflammatory diseases, a form of acquired immunodeficiency - hypogammaglobulinemia, anxiety, medical PTSD and more. She shares this list of conditions here and on her social media not to participate in the pity Olympics, but in order to connect with others who may be dealing with similar issues and looking for support!

Education & Career

Heather received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Washington in 2007 and her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (now renamed as UC College of the Law, San Francisco or UC Law SF) in 2010. After graduating from law school, Heather practiced employment litigation at a national law firm in Los Angeles. Despite her best efforts to juggle her career with the demands of her health, she had to stop working in 2014 to focus more on caring for her health. Following the doozy of a year that 2020 was for everyone, she returned home from crowded and busy Los Angeles to the peaceful Santa Cruz area where she grew up to be closer to family to help her better manage her health in January 2021! More recently, Heather moved to Campbell, about an hour south of San Francisco, to be closer to Stanford where she receives all of her medical care.

Volunteer Work Advising Non-Profits

Since she stopped practicing law in 2014, Heather has redirected her skills as an attorney towards advising and serving on the Board of Directors for multiple nonprofit organizations, including a small growing nonprofit providing support to addicts, and an organization that pairs Ukrainian refugees with sponsors in North America her brother helped start, close to her heart as Heather has Ukrainian heritage. She loves being able to apply her knowledge as an attorney towards helping people!

Disability & Patient Advocacy

Heather also has become an active disability and patient advocate since becoming disabled in 2014. With 20+ years of experience as a "professional patient," she has encountered countless barriers in the healthcare system. Since becoming visibly disabled (she currently uses a cane but also uses a walker and/or wheelchair at times depending on how active her diseases are) and unable to work she has also experienced a great deal of misunderstanding from society at large. Heather uses her social media presence, photography, and other art to challenge these misunderstandings by expressing the realities of living with multiple chronic illnesses and disabilities as a thirty-something. 

Heather also uses art and photography to spark conversations about barriers to accessing quality medical care, improving the doctor/patient relationship, difficulties faced in obtaining a diagnosis, ableism/disability discrimination, and many other issues relating to disability and chronic illness. Using social media, she shares unapologetic "selfies" and other images featuring her using her mobility aids and engaging in everyday activities relating to caring for her chronic illnesses to normalize the idea that anyone can be chronically ill or disabled - even a mostly healthy-looking young(ish) adult.

Heather works regularly with multiple patient advocacy organizations, pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare stakeholders, and has participated in medical conventions (including Stanford’s MedX twice), to provide consultation services, represent patient voices, and provide insight into patient needs.

Ultimately, Heather hopes that by sharing her own story, she can help others living with disabilities and chronic illnesses feel less isolated!

Painting and other Arts & Crafts

Heather has also always been a creative soul, and has found the time and space to make art on her “good days” since becoming unable to work. Her more traditional art ranges from large, vibrantly colored, floral inspired abstract acrylic paintings to smaller watercolors and ink floral drawings. She also has used her art, particularly sculpture using medical supplies and photography, and “selfies” taken receiving treatment, as part of her advocacy work for patients living with chronic illnesses and disabilities. She has made a dedicated Instagram tag for her art and her medical selfies (also part of a wider project participated in by many chronically ill and disabled folks called “HospitalGlam” by a creator she got to know while living in LA, Karolyn Gehrig).

Heather also loves fiber arts, and does embroidery and is learning punch needle rug hooking from her Mom, Janie Bernstein of Felton Fiber Arts! Heather and her Mom also regularly craft together, and Heather has been making hand painted floral and galaxy inspired ornaments, as well as ornament trees and wreaths for all holidays from Christmas, Chanukah and Halloween to Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter! She also hand paints and uses fabric, paper and “modge podge” to decorate Easter eggs, and make other holiday decorations. Visit her Instagram tag or her newly formed art instagram @CraftyCorini to see her crafting!

Heather also loves baking, especially French pastries, gardening. caring for her jungle of houseplants, doting on her cats Delilah, and the kittens, Julius & Juniper aka Junie, trying to make her cats “TikTok famous,” all things Disneyland, collecting Disney pins & memorabilia (especially Queen of Hearts & Alice in Wonderland), planning out her artsy tattoos, and getting fun nail designs and vibrant hair colors!

Contact Heather!

If you'd like to ask a question, work with Heather, or just say "hi!" please connect with Heather on her TikTok, Twitter (she doesn’t really check or use anymore) or her primary Instagram, her crafting instagram, or her Disney pin collecting Instagram, or just email her at: hcorini@gmail.com.