LEARNING HOW TO LIVE AGAIN

LIVING

I have heard how people have gone through traumatic experiences and had to re-learn how to sit up, stand up, and even walk again. So bear with me but I never imagined having to learn how to live again. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been breathing, eating, sleeping, thinking, and moving my arms and legs just like you. Something has changed though. I finally have an answer for what illness plagues my body. Through knowledge of this illness I am able to get back into a new norm in life. This new norm may not be anything like my life 3 years ago, but I will go back to a life of thinking, speaking and living life again. You see, there have been days upon days the past few years where I felt extremely ill with no plausible reason why. I have had to lie in bed and do nothing. I have suffered from intense pain. And I have felt stuck not knowing what to think, say, or even know what to do next. God is good and by His grace He has provided His wisdom with good doctors to find what is wrong with me.

I finally have an answer; I finally know what my illness is…

I have been diagnosed with Chronic Migraines and Fibromyalgia.

As for the migraines, I have been treated for the past three years for my migraines but my whole head continued to hurt. Even if the pain was lessoned with medication it still hurt. The MRI’s showed that nothing was wrong and so I continued to wonder what was going on and what caused my never ending 24/7 headache.

 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia two weeks ago while at Mayo Clinic. My first thoughts when being told I had fibromyalgia was relief and discouragement. For although I had been given a diagnosis everything I had been told about fibromyalgia by my doctors in KC was that you never got better. I even knew different people who had fibromyalgia and they never seemed to get better. Although thankful that I did not have anything worse such as cancer, MS, or even death; I was discouraged that I would never get better. Such was not the case! I went to a class for fibromyalgia patients at Mayo Clinic and received training on how to cope with fibromyalgia and get back to a normal life!

Through less than two days I was being taught what Fibromyalgia was and how through Self-Management Tools I would get better. You can imagine what a relief it was to hear that I could get back to a normal life with this illness called Fibromyalgia.

I have continued to say God is good and He truly is, because He continues to show me how good He is!

So today I find myself very encouraged. I am working at getting back to a normal lifestyle. I am on a migraine medication to help with the chronic headaches. I have set goals, moderation, and the self-management tools into action. I have become gluten free. I have become an exercise machine. And most of all I have found hope again. For as I said at the beginning, I have an answer with knowledge as to how to get back to a normal life and start living again!

MY 3 YEAR TIMETABLE

Over the past 3 years I have been tested for fibromyalgia, lymes disease, migraines, iron deficiency, vitamin deficiencies, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, diabetes, and brain tumors. My major symptoms included: Chronic fatigue; chronic migraines; chronic pain all over, but especially my head, neck, and shoulders; and dizziness. I was found to have low iron, low B12, low D3, and migraines. But every time I got tests done the doctors would tell me nothing was wrong, that I had a healthy body. You can imagine my surprise when I was told I had fibromyalgia.

Over the past three years I know my life has been full of traumatic events. The first year and at the start of my illness, I almost stopped breathing due to living in a moldy apartment. During that year I continued to have health problems which continue to increase. The second year my fiancé’ died, I graduated with my undergrad, and I moved into my first place. All of this in less than a month’s time. The third year I had a bad dizzy spell at work having to resign and move from Kansas City to South Dakota.

Although I have seen other people’s lives way worse than my own, these past few years have been rough for me. But no matter how bad it has gotten I continue to turn to God. For He is good, patient, loving, forgiving, and caring. Over and over again when something traumatic would come my way I would run into my Saviors arms. For He is the only one with the answers. I can’t imagine not running to God through these tough times. As Stephen I started saying and believing at the beginning of it all, “God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good!”

For those wondering what fibromyalgia is and what those self-management tools are check out my next blog post!

As always, much love to all who read!