“Love can get you through anything!”
For the past 13 years, Emmy-nominated actress Chandra Wilson has played the confident and ambitious role of Dr. Miranda Bailey on the hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. But behind the scenes, she’s had to overcome fear and helplessness as she watched her oldest daughter battle a rare health disorder. Here, Chandra shares her secrets to finding joy— no matter what life throws your way!
As Dr. Miranda Bailey on one of television’s longest-running medical dramas, Grey’s Anatomy, actress Chandra Wilson is both stern and stoic. But in real life, the 49-year-old mom of three is rarely without a warm, welcoming smile on her face. For the past 10 years, though, her positivity and strength have been tested as she’s watched her oldest daughter, Sarina, now 26, battle a terrifying chronic disorder. “Sarina came down with what she thought was a bad case of food poisoning,” Chandra tells Woman’s World of her then-16year-old daughter. “However, she started having constant attacks of vomiting and stabbing abdominal pain. We made multiple terrifying trips to the ER.” And although Chandra plays a brilliant physician on television, she felt helpless to heal her daughter.
“Watching Sarina struggle was nearly unbearable,” Chandra confides. “But I knew I had a role to play in the quest for a diagnosis, so I focused on that instead of giving in to fear and sadness. Of course, there were times I’d break down, but I knew it wouldn’t help Sarina if I stayed in a place of despair. So I’d allow myself to cry in the car or sit on the couch for 10 minutes and just ‘do me’—and then I’d go back to being a mom who wanted to find answers for her daughter.”
Finally, after months of medical tests, hospital stays and doctor visits, Sarina was diagnosed with mitochondrial dysfunction (a severe depletion of the body’s cellular energy) and a rare disorder called cyclic vomiting syndrome, and was able to begin treatment. In the years that have followed, Chandra has met every challenge with hope and joy. Here, her tips for turning trials into triumphs.