From Sickness to Strength: How One Woman Turned Her Battle with Lupus into a Lifeline for Others

After years of pain, confusion, and hospital visits, Marla Chaffin found healing and built a business to help women do the same through Inflammation Strategies.

The morning light spills across Marla Chaffin’s workspace as she sits before her laptop, sipping tea and answering messages from women who, like her, have spent years searching for relief. Her tone is warm, compassionate, and familiar. “You’re not alone,” she writes to one client. “We’ll take it one step at a time.”

For Marla, those words carry the weight of lived experience. Ten years ago, she was the one desperately seeking answers. “I was on a really stressful job at the time, and it just basically set me down to where they had me in and out of emergency rooms and hospitals,” she recalls. “They couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me.”

That confusing, painful season became the catalyst for her life’s new mission.

The Diagnosis That Changed Everything

After four years of endless tests, inconclusive results, and mounting frustration, Marla was finally diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that can attack any part of the body. “They had diagnosed me with fibromyalgia from the beginning,” she explains, “but I really felt like I had something more than that. There were markers in my blood work that didn’t coincide with fibromyalgia as they know it today.”

It took finding a specialist who truly listened to confirm what she had long suspected. “When I finally found somebody who specialized in lupus, that’s when I was able to get diagnosed,” she says. The medication helped ease the pain, but it came at a cost. “I was on some heavy meds, and I didn’t really like that,” she admits. “They helped, but I wanted something that would support my body while I was taking them, maybe even help me get off some of them.”

Her search led her to a natural wellness product that changed her life. “I fell in love with it,” she says simply. “I came out of retirement so I could pass that information on to other people.” Within months, her energy returned, her brain fog lifted, and she began to reduce her medications safely.

That transformation sparked something powerful.

Turning Pain into Purpose

Inflammation Strategies was born from Marla’s conviction that no one should have to walk the road of chronic pain alone, or feel dismissed by the very people meant to help them. “What inspires me is talking to women who have been suffering with some kind of chronic pain or autoimmune disease,” she says. “I think women get treated more unfairly by doctors. I know I did. They acted like I was just looking for drugs, when really, I just wanted answers.”

That frustration became fuel for her business. Through personalized programs, education, and genuine empathy, Marla now helps others find the balance and relief she once thought impossible. “Being able to create programs and offer services that I know can help women is what makes me tick,” she says. “It’s what makes me get up in the morning.”

Running a business at 60-plus has come with its challenges, especially in a digital-first world. “Being a business owner isn’t always easy, and being over 60 isn’t easy when it comes to learning all the new methods of how business works now,” she laughs. “I’ve had to learn multiple programs and technologies, and I’ve lost money trusting people who said they could help but didn’t deliver. That was a hard lesson.”

Still, she persists, motivated by service, not sales. “It’s more about helping people than making money,” she says. “That’s really what it’s all about.”

A Healing Business with Heart

Inflammation Strategies offers far more than just wellness tips. Marla’s approach is deeply personal, rooted in experience, empathy, and education. Her 10-week program, launching soon, is designed to help clients identify the underlying causes of inflammation and create sustainable lifestyle changes.

Participants work directly with Marla to address issues like autoimmune conditions, pre-diabetes, fibromyalgia, and weight management. “It’s not just about the food you eat,” she explains. “It’s about how you live, how you rest, how you manage stress. We work through all of that together.”

Her philosophy is grounded in compassion and realism. “I’m not the kind of person who just requires you to change overnight,” she says. “I believe in baby steps, changing little things at a time so you can make a complete lifestyle shift that actually sticks. I walk hand in hand with women to make sure it isn’t too hard, so they can continue down the road, possibly without even needing a coach.”

Why Women Trust Her

Marla’s clients are drawn to her because she has lived what she teaches. “I think the biggest thing that makes my business different from others is that I have walked through it myself,” she says. “I’m not just teaching from a textbook. I have the same pain, the same fear of hearing that you have a disease that won’t go away. I’m in the trenches with them.”

That shared understanding builds trust in ways that certifications and marketing cannot. Her community feels it. Many of her clients find her through word of mouth or through the online autoimmune and fibromyalgia support groups she frequents. “When I started, I had maybe 80 people on my Facebook page,” she says. “Now I have over 1,800, and it’s been just a little over a year.”

The growth is steady, but for Marla, it’s about depth, not numbers. “I’m not where I want to be, but I’m where I’m at,” she says with a smile. “And I’ll grind it out every day for my tribe. Whoever joins my group is who’s supposed to be there.”

She’s also expanding her reach through speaking engagements and podcasts, hoping to inspire more people to take control of their health. “I’m looking for opportunities to share this message with a bigger audience,” she says. “If I can help one woman feel seen and supported, that’s worth it.”

From Online Connections to Real Change

Social media has played a key role in helping Marla spread awareness about inflammation and autoimmune conditions. Through educational posts, motivational content, and free resources like her downloadable Inflammation Reset Guide, she’s giving people tools to start their healing journey.

“It’s getting there,” she says modestly. “Learning social media wasn’t easy at first, but now I see the impact. The conversations I have online turn into real transformations.”

Her focus for the next year is to fully launch her 10-week program, reach more clients, and fill her calendar with speaking engagements. “In six to twelve months, I’d love to see that program completely up and running,” she says. “I want to be totally booked with speaking events and have women coming to me for help.”

A Message of Hope and Healing

For Marla, success isn’t measured in profit margins or follower counts; it’s measured in lives changed. “I have great empathy for people who are in pain,” she says softly. “I understand what it feels like. My goal is to make it possible for women to create better lifestyles, to get up off the couch, to feel like themselves again.”

Her story is one of resilience, transformation, and unwavering faith in the body’s ability to heal with the right guidance. What began as a desperate search for answers has become a powerful mission: to ensure no woman feels unheard, unseen, or dismissed in her struggle with chronic pain.

“Helping others find relief gives my journey meaning,” Marla says. “If my story helps even one person realize they can take control of their health, then every challenge I faced was worth it.”

To learn more about Marla Chaffin and Inflammation Strategies, visit www.inflammationstrategies.com and follow her on social media, follow them on Facebook at Marla Chaffin and Instagram at @marla.chaffin. Download her free Inflammation Reset Guide and begin your own path toward a healthier, more vibrant life.

This feature is part of The Business View Journal’s Local Spotlight Series — your trusted source for discovering the best small businesses in your community.