I fight for dreams. When I was diagnosed with a Chiari malformation/Basilar invagination, all my dreams suddenly became impossible–my dream of becoming a black belt, of becoming a better skier, and of living the life I wanted to live. Hope overcame me when I had a decompression surgery and a …
Read More »Monthly Archives: January 2016
Alexandria’s Story (Endometriosis)
Now that I’m going into my late 20’s, all my friends are having kids, getting married, and moving away. Yet, I have no children (not a bad thing), no husband (also not a bad thing) and have been in the same location for 8+ years now. As I grow older, I’ve …
Read More »Lindsey’s Story (Giant Cell Tumor)
My name is Lindsey, and I’m 18 years old. It all started four years ago, my freshman year in high school. I had decided to join a weightlifting class to try to get into shape for the summer. It was January, and summer was right around the corner. We began …
Read More »Bobbie’s Story (Breast Cancer)
On February 22, 2011, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and on the 23rd of February, the doctor told my friends, family, and myself that I had 3-5 days to live, and they were securing a hospice room for me. I fought this, and with God’s help, I was released from …
Read More »Nikki’s Story (Autoimmune Hepatitis)
In 2010, my world was flipped upside down, and life as I knew it changed. I was 27 years old, living away from my home state of Connecticut for the first time ever in Seattle’s hip Capitol Hill neighborhood, going to graduate school full-time, and enjoying life with my husband. …
Read More »Kelly’s Story (Gastroparesis, SMA Syndrome)
I started out with gastroparesis in Aug. 2013, but it seems as though I have had it for years. My doctor was very neglectful in my treatment, and I got progressively worse. I ended up at the point where every time I ate, I was in pain or vomiting. My GI …
Read More »Brittany’s Story (Ovarian Cancer)
Hi, my name’s Brittany, and at the time I had ovarian cancer, I was 29 years old. Last February, I went to the doctor’s with the flu, not knowing I had a 5 and a half pound cyst on my ovaries. I told the doctor my stomach wouldn’t stop hurting, …
Read More »Heather’s Story (Adenomyosis, Endometriosis)
First, I would like to say I am so comforted–although I wouldn’t wish this pain on a single soul–to know I’m a) not *entirely* insane–I do have a very long history with panic/anxiety disorder and insomnia–and b) there’s an answer, which carries a long road ahead, of course. I’d like …
Read More »Sophia’s Story (Trisomy 18, CHD)
At about 32 weeks pregnant, our world was turned upside down. We had a normal pregnancy until I was about 28 weeks pregnant. I started carrying extra fluid, so the OB decided to send us to a maternal fetal medicine specialist to check her renal system. While we were having …
Read More »Karen’s Story (Breast Cancer)
I was originally diagnosed with IBC in 2003. After two years of arduous treatment, I remained in remission for 6 years. Then the cancer returned to my bones, and later spread to my lungs and liver as well. I began painting after my diagnosis and have made some headway as …
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