Fighting Like a Girl 

I’ve always been the girl that was never “normal.” I know that there is no such thing as normal, but my life has been pretty… different. I have faced many setbacks, but I continue to learn from them every single day. I’m always asked, “how do you do it?” The answer is easy, though. The only choice I have is to keep on truckin’. When you are faced with battles you pray, learn from the situation, and keep moving forward.

 

First of all, I would like to share why I am creating this blog. It is not for attention. It is not for money. It is not so I can have a pity party or complain. I am starting this blog for a couple of reasons. I have had an amazing amount of support from family and friends, but it can be hard to know who to update. It can be difficult to tell which people want to know how I am doing, which want to know what happened at my last doctor’s appointment, and who is just asking to be polite. I post on Facebook some, but I don’t always feel like it is the appropriate place. I don’t want anyone to think I am sharing for any of the wrong reasons that I previously stated, and I know it can be annoying for those that don’t really care about all of the details. With this blog, I can share with those that want to know what is going on, and not have to worry about leaving someone out. I always feel terrible when I forget to tell someone that asked to stay updated when something happens. It’s not that I don’t care; I just get overwhelmed with whatever is going on. Another reason for starting this is for other people with chronic illnesses. I want you to know that you truly are not alone. I remember when I was first diagnosed I didn’t know anyone that was going through anything even remotely similar. Luckily, I met others with similar diagnosis, and it made things a lot less isolating.

 

Now, on to the difficult question I get asked a lot, “What is wrong with you?” I always have a moment of hesitation when I get asked that. I really and truly do not mind sharing… I just have no idea what to say! I’m sure most people don’t want to hear me talk for ten minutes about what all has happened so I normally just tell them about my most ongoing condition. Endometriosis.

 

I kind of skipped ahead so now I’ll start at the beginning. In 2010, my health battle began. After having knee surgery, I developed tremendous abdominal pain. I had a CT scan, and was immediately sent to a specialist. I had emergency surgery that night and another the next day, along with multiple tests. We found out that I have one kidney, two uteri, and about 600cc of blood in a blind pouch. I had immediate relief when I woke up from my second surgery, but that didn't last long. A different pain eased its way into my body, so I had a diagnostic laparoscopic surgery in November. At age thirteen, I was diagnosed with stage three endometriosis and sent to a world renound surgeon in Georgia. During my three hour surgery, the doctor removed a lot of endometriosis, a large ovarian cyst, and my appendix (which was covered in endometriosis). Unexpectedly, my endo has continued to grow back, and I have now had around twenty surgeries total. Once my body got sick, other things started happening too. I have some random issues, like chronic pain, heart problems, and dizziness. Living in pain caused even the simplest things to become exceptionally exhausting and I was forced to change my entire way of life. It was extremely hard to not give up, but I discovered that I was much stronger than I ever thought I could be.

 

Along with my illnesses, my mom and dad are also sick, and I will be posting regularly about them as well. Just a brief rundown: my dad has an external and internal device pumping his heart for him, and my mom had breast cancer in the beginning of 2015. My dad has been a living miracle and has shared the power of God just by being here today. I love them both, and I think we have some kind of sick people bond going on!

 

Since then, we've had a few more bumps in the road, but I am continuing to get stronger mentally and physically. I know that I could never repay all of those who have helped my family, but I am determined to give back in some way. I am now very passionate about one day being in the medical field, and I'm now in my first year of nursing school. I got engaged to the love of my life this summer, and we are planning our wedding for June of 2016. The support he provides me is beyond words, and I am so thankful God has put him in my life. The struggles we face are definitely hard for my entire family, but without it, I wouldn't be who I am today. It has really made me appreciate life, and encouraged me to do as much as I possibly can while I'm on this earth. My faith in the Lord has grown tremendously because of these struggles, and I have become much closer to both my biological family and my church family. I realized that family and friends are two of the most important things in life and that helping others is what truly matters to me.