When Lizzie Perez began experiencing unexplained pain in high school, everything she loved—dancing, performing, even just walking upstairs—suddenly felt out of reach.

Before chronic pain forced her to trade pointe shoes for lab reports, Perez was a self-proclaimed "theater kid." From the age of 7, she spent nearly every spare hour immersed in the world of dance and musical theater. “I was dancing probably 16 hours a week,” she says. “Tap was my favorite—it’s just so joyful.”

By sixth grade, her body began sending confusing and unwelcome signals. What started as knee pain—brushed off by doctors as simple growing pains—soon escalated into a widespread, persistent ache that moved through her joints like a fog she couldn’t escape. 

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