Tag Archives: support group

My life was never expected to be perfect because perfection does not exist. What was expected of me was for me to graduate high school making A or Bs, and go to college on a swimming or basketball scholarships. What I did not expect was to spending time during my …

On October 4, 2010 I was given my most difficult challenge yet. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (Stage 1). I should also mention that this also happened to be the fall of my senior year of college! My schooling has always been a number one priority, so being dealt …

“We’re only here (on Earth) for a little while…take this (Plaquenil) and come back in three months.” This is what I heard after a year of testing, x-rays, blood work, CAT scans, poking and prodding, finally leading to the diagnosis of RA aka rheumatoid arthritis. Living in a rural community, resources …

Well, when i was 10 my grandma was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. It was a sad moment when we heard that because the doctors said that it couldn’t be treated. We gave her treatment anyway. After awhile the cancer was making her lose her hair so she wore hats all …

Purple Colored Sunglasses I walked with a pretty fast gait. I walked around others who couldn’t catch up to me. Rolled my eyes at those who were too slow. Cringed at the elderly who took too much time getting up the steps to the bus. I cringed at ANYONE who took too …

My name is Shalina Tovar and I battle Lupus, a kidney disease. I have been fighting like a girl since May of 2005 which is when I was officially diagnosed. My Lupus has caused my left hip to fail. I’ve been dealing with avascular necrosis of the hip since 2009 and now …

It’s been just two days since my doctor uttered the ugliest word imaginable. Cancer. It’s almost impossible for me to wrap my mind around cancer. I am a healthy, 34 year old, wife and mother with possible thyroid cancer. There it is again, cancer, it sounds as ugly today as it did yesterday. …

Well, for about half my life, I had been feeling a lot of joint pain. It mostly started with my knees at first. I thought maybe I had just injured them in some way. As time progressed I began having knee and back pain. I got older and began to …

Hello! My name is Falanya and at 33 years old, I have been “fighting like a girl” since I was 10 years old when my mother suddenly fell ill. I remember the first day Lupus entered my life: I was walking with my mother by my side on my way …

I’ve been sick, literally, since the day I was born. My real mom is an addict who couldn’t get sober while pregnant. I was born early and addicted. The drugs that sent her into labor early, also magnified a congential heart defect that runs in my family. I had open …