“I’m a forty-one-year-old disabled mother of three and pastor’s wife, currently undergoing chemotherapy for Lupus Vasculitis. I look in the mirror and wonder, ‘how did I get here so fast?’ The hours lying awake at night in pain; losing my ability to walk; the years of failed medications; doctors; hospital stays; ER visits; the specialists; the…
“It has almost been a lifetime of pain. A lifetime of looking for answers and hoping for a miracle. For as long as I can remember I have been in and out of hospitals desperately searching for answers. Daily bone dislocations, bruising at the slightest touch of a feather, chronic headaches, fainting episodes, and daily…
“Growing up I was a go-getter. A typical type A, or nowadays known as a type 3 on the enneagram..I got validation and worth by working hard and getting good grades. It gave me purpose and confidence. I say ‘I was a type 1’ because while some say don’t let diseases define you, there are…
Trigger Warning: This story includes topics of rape and sexual harassment. “I was diagnosed with severe generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and PTSD at the age of 19. In the year of 2016, when I thought that this would be the prime year of my life, I was raped by a man I knew from high…
“I live with anxiety, depression, and panic disorder. These are names of illnesses that are often carelessly thrown around, but my experience with them has been anything but fickle. My first official diagnosis was in January of 2019. I vividly remember going to bed one night, everything as it should have been. The next thing…