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Katina Gerstein

@katinagerstein

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LBCC 🥁 Dance Major
Chronic Illness Warrior💙 @malswarrior

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Embrace life, and enjoy every moment you have. Today I just want to reflect on how far I’ve come to beat all odds and defy gravity. These photos were taken in April 2018 during a time where I was fighting to stay alive. After my diagnosis of MALS, EDS & SVAS shortly after finding out about my pituitary tumor and addisons disease. This all was post surgery for a major life saving operation battling severe malnutrition, pain and inability to eat from “Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome” which left me with severe complications due to other unfound issues (hiatal hernia, duodenum AVM, and needing aorta repair). I almost died and I had an out of body experience yet I knew I wasn’t going to die. These machines were keeping me alive while I just kept fighting through. Traveling is a Dream come true and I won’t let anything stop me. This was just a hurdle I overcame. Since surgery I’ve improved a lot. Although I need more surgeries in the future I always remind myself that sometimes I might have to suffer because of things I can’t control. I didn’t get this far to quit or let this stop me. I intend to move forward and keep improving my life, my health and my skills to achieve my goals. I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me. I will fight and I won’t let this stop me 🙏🏻 Thank You Dr Danny Shouhed for saving my life not once but twice. I later had my 2nd major operation without complications in February 2023💙To stay updated see my carepage @malswarrior taken in Cedars-Sinai by @katinagerstein

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7 years ago

Hi my name is Katina Gerstein. This Article was Written April 29th, 2018 by @cedarssinai “The Bridge” February 17th is MALS Awareness Day and February 29th is Rare Disease Day... 💙

#MALSwarrior
#MALSawareness
#MALSawarenessday
#MedianArcuateLigamentSyndrome
#MALSwarrior
#MALS
#ChronicIllness
#RareDisease
#Feb17
#CedarsSinai
#CeliacPlexusBlock
#CeliacStent
#RareDiseaseDay
#Feb29
#ColonCancer
#ColonCancerSurvivor
#CancerSurvivor
#abceyewitness
#abc7
#abc7news
#abc7la taken in Cedars-Sinai by @katinagerstein

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7 years ago

Quite an uneventful summer what a take back 🩰❤️‍🩹🏥
#dance #chronicillness #longbeach #lbcc by @katinagerstein

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25 days ago

Life’s been busy and the announcements are way past due… I can’t reveal my amazing news just yet but it’s COMING SOON and you don’t want to miss this!! #chinesenewyear2026🐉🐲🏮🧨🧧🇨🇳🎎🏯㊙️ #yearofthehorse #goldendragon #chinatown by @katinagerstein

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6 months ago

A long year of dedicated hard work to step up into leadership. Who knows what student REP has in store for me❤️‍🩹 #leader #jfli #lbcc taken in LBCC by @katinagerstein

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7 months ago

Hello, Let me introduce myself. I started twirling baton and marching in parades at 3 years old. I LOVE PERFORMING I want the world to HEAR MY STORY. 🪩I am a chronic illness warrior battling multiple rare diseases. 💙Including a progressive condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome or EDS, MALS, POTS, SVAS (aortic stenosis) a pituitary gland tumor & addisons disease 🦋 @malswarrior I moved across the country in 2018 & survived multiple life threatening operations. I currently am dependent on a feeding tube & a central line to keep me medically stable & out of the hospital but I do not let that stop me.🥁 I keep a promise to myself that everyday of my life I will tell someone my story. Imagine how many people will hear it for each day the rest of my life. I went to nursing school in 2014 thinking I would be taking care of others until I became the one reliant on 24/7 medical care hooked up to lines & tubes. In 2018 I started my life long journey of resilience & the first of many major surgeries. In October of 2024 I took an interest in peer support. I am currently writing a book, creating a podcast, gearing into public speaking & social media content to share more about my day to day life with a terminal illness.💪🏻 I want to build a community for disabled performers. I relapsed Jan 2026 for the 3rd time since Feb 2023 after 3 years remission ❤️‍🩹 Doctors told me I’m terminal 99% who relapse don’t live past 5 years. I don’t believe in death sentences. I have hopes & dreams of reaching millions across the globe to share my story I live with a lot of pain behind my smile please don’t let my positivity blind you from my light. The 1 minute glimpse into the highlight of my life. Most days I struggle to hold out, faint or collapse moments after. Much hugs to all my new friends🧸don’t forget to smile each & every new day.❤️‍🩹 #StandAgainstHate @standagainsthateahf @mlkdayparadela Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Junior with Grand Marshal @cedtheentertainer & Special Guest Stars: The Cast of @theneighborhood Broadcast LIVE @abc7community

#mlk
#martinlutherkingday
#martinlutherkingjr
#abc7eyewitness
#abc7news
#abc7community
#nbc4
#lasentinelnews
#telemundo52 by @katinagerstein

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9 months ago

find me 💋

#aesthetic #newme #college #2026 by @katinagerstein

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9 months ago

Tis the season of magic 🧙🏼⭐️💃🏻🩰

#wicked
#wickedforgood
#milagro
#norwalk
#holidaycarnival
#dancer
#elf taken in Norwalk, California by @katinagerstein

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a year ago

Happy Friendsgiving!! 🧸You’re worst nightmare is only in your mind… but when you believe the worst is over you’re gonna wake up manifesting dreams…

*when I was a little girl I used to destroy my toys instead of play with them. I loved to play house with my friends as most typical girls but nobody wanted to play with me. This made me play by myself having full control, rule and reign over (my toys that were my friends but didn’t want to play). Sometimes I would get so upset having a meltdown that I would sit my stuffies in a friendship circle to represent my fake friends who hurt me and cut me off. I would come home go on a rage because I was hurting inside. Autistic children can struggle with aggression, self h🌻rm and outbursts that can become unsafe for the child who is not able to communicate and does not have the support needed to handle always being lonely but never understanding why. This photo is one depiction of how I as an autistic person have experienced growing up with trouble having relationships and understanding communication. Often this leads to theraputic approaches like role play acting out what’s happenings, how it makes me feel and my reaction as a desperate plea. It can be easy to act out situations in my life like a scene from a movie called my life. This tactic helped me make progress in therapy when I couldn’t explain what was going on. Using this method improved my ability and understanding on making friends. For a long time meltdowns became my only way to handle stressful situations and it worked during those times where I lacked functioning using verbal communication. It may have ruined my chances of friendship but it also ruled out the wrong people, it taught me a lot about who cared and who didn’t. In the end a lot of situations resulted in negative consequences for having my big emotions that include not control but it got me the help I needed. It takes a special kind of friendship for an autistic person to receive and give support while accommodating and understanding the difficulties building a relationship where it would be easier otherwise to not put forth effort and patience needed! 🌻 by @katinagerstein

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a year ago

BIG things are happening you just wait and see!! 🎆 Can you guess what city I am in?! 🥁 Lots of travel ahead 2026 here I come!!

#lbcc
#losangeles
#dancer
#travel
#workhard
#collegegirl
#businesswoman
#institute
#leadership
#mystory
#chronicillness
#peersupport by @katinagerstein

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a year ago

Opening Act Performer 🎃@anaheimhalloweenparade

Sponsored By @disneyland

#anaheim
#halloween
#disneyland
#halloweenparade
#disneyparade
#baton
#twirler
#openingact
#performer taken in Anaheim, California by @katinagerstein

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a year ago

I wanted to take a moment of appreciation for 🩰@chancetodancela program director Laura 💕 @lchachi & her assistant 😊 @brycebroedelll providing inclusion to adult dancers not in the professional industry access to free Anna teaching beginner ballet @anna_jacobs12
As a chronically ill & disabled dance student with multiple conditions studying dance in LA has been a dream come true. ☄️I share my journey dancing every step of the way @malswarrior 🦓 Dance is the reason I get up every day. It’s the reason I battle my condition. I fight through the pain & sickness just to get up to dance. 💃🏻 I have the will when it’s driven by such deep seeded passion. ☀️I didn’t just move across the country for major surgery with @drdannyshouhed 🏥There was a bigger purpose here for me!! ❤️‍🩹The dance prep I gain at @losangelesballet has provided me an experience of a lifetime. I am so grateful for the extra instruction and enjoyment. 🎆I notice improvement from each class. 👍🏻 I work hard to earn my place. I am studying in the dance program @lbccdancers with the hope of one day performing ballet locally on stage or becoming a ballet instructor/choreographer. I know I can do it!! ✅ My lovely ballet professor @kiaramoves imprints unforgettable confidence in her students at the beginning stages of their studies that I guarantee it doesn’t matter who you are if you walk out of her class you will want to come back even if you never took a dance class in your life. She has that @lbcitycollege spirit “You Belong Here”! None of this would be possible without each & every one of you who has a designated spot in my life to keep me alive & thriving. Now you know the reason I keep going. It’s a team effort. I also wanted to take another gratitude shoutout to 💕 @officialdadance another studio that has provided free dance classes in other styles. I recently started taking jazz & hiphop with 🎩 @iambrandononeal🤵🏾‍♂️ @klassikkanec & much support 🔥 @johnnyboidv8s preparing for my spring courses next year. It’s been an amazing experience that 2025 has turned around for me in ways I didn’t know were possible.💪🏻but look at me now!! You are witnessing the biggest come back of my life. 🪩✨ taken in Los Angeles Ballet by @katinagerstein

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a year ago