She still showed up, led meetings, met deadlines, and looked capable. But behind the performance were brain fog, exhaustion, and a body asking for help. This is what burnout can look like when it hides behind competence.

For years, my lab results were marked “low” before anyone stopped to ask whether the range itself was ever built with women like me in mind. This post explores how standard ANC and neutrophil lab ranges can mislabel Black patients, create unnecessary fear, and delay the right conversations in healthcare.