Humbly Courageous

Hello, welcome back. This blogging journey has been a fun one for me. When I wrote my first blog in January of 2019, I had been at church that morning. The sermon was about not putting things off that you desire to accomplish or do because you are afraid you won't succeed, or you are worried what others may think, or you just plain don't believe in yourself. So, on the way home I brought it up to Jamie that writing a blog was something I had been thinking about doing, and thought I might give it a try.  He encouraged me to do it, and so I just found this website and wrote my first blog that day. I wrote a couple after that, but then went about 9 months without writing another. Then, I came across someone who had started out as a blogger, and she mentioned that in the beginning when she first started her blog, she gave herself an imaginary deadline. She didn't really have one, but she created one for herself. That really resonated with me, so I did the same. I decided that e...

I used to be a waitress....that's a phrase Jamie and I jokingly use when we are trying to carry a bunch of stuff in one trip. I think I once said that and then dropped and broke everything I was carrying, so now it's a running joke. However, I really did used to be a waitress. During my college days, there was a place called Finale Dessert Cafe in the Keystone area. They served all kinds of desserts and coffee drinks. It was a really neat little place.  Always making me laugh!  I was a customer there, and found out they were hiring. I ended up working there for several months during college. If you've ever waited tables you know that it is hard on many levels. This cafe had a capacity of about 80 I believe, so it was fairly small, but it was usually full. It was a popular place. One of the things I found difficult about waiting tables was the initial approach. You are walking up to a group of strangers who are unpredictable, and that's intimidating. Add a physical disab...

Welcome back, after tackling the topic of mental health with Muscular Dystrophy last week, I thought I'd talk this week more about something that brings me a lot of joy, yet challenges me more than anything ever has in my life! Being a mom with a disability. I have written a couple of blogs about each time I was pregnant and what that was like as someone living with MD. I said I would touch more on what it was like raising kids while also juggling a physical daily challenge. So, here's my experience so far with that! I have two boys who are now 13 and 17 years old! Time certainly goes by too fast. Don't blink. The stages in my life, going from living at home, then to college, then to moving out on my own, adding a husband, and then two kids definitely has just kept increasing my responsibilities and things that I am in charge of handling. When it's just you and your husband, the laundry loads are smaller, the grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking are simpler. I g...

Hello, welcome back. This week I felt like I should talk about mental health and Muscular Dystrophy. I feel like our mental health is something we don't talk a lot about, so I wanted to share how Muscular Dystrophy has affected my mental health because honestly speaking there have been some very dark times. I talk a lot about how MD affects me physically, but haven't shared a whole lot on the toll it has taken on my mental health over my lifetime. I've talked here and there about how it's hard to live daily with a physical disability. Something that you know you can't take medicine for and make it better like you would a headache, or a body ache. It NEVER GOES AWAY. It's there from the time you open your eyes in the morning, to the time you close your eyes to to go sleep at night. Obviously, it's physically grueling, and just so daunting, but you may not realize how much a physical disability can affect your mental health.  My rock My readers who are runners...

Welcome back! Well, I survived week one post double SVF stem cell procedure, and also got word that the half of my cells I am banking arrived safely at the cell bank. That was a relief! One thing is for sure, there was a definite difference in the single procedure recovery vs. the double procedure recovery. There has been a lot more pain this time. I am still very sore from the procedure. The bruising is getting better, but definitely still there. Also, the area is still swollen and very tender to touch. Each day I have just taken it day by day. I have had some good days, combined with some really painful days. The pain is from the actual procedure, but also I have had some achiness all over that has been pretty persistent and miserable this time, as well as feeling very fatigued. However, I know I am only about a week post procedure, and all of this is to be expected. Allowing your body to heal is important to the process! The first couple of days, I just had a hard time finding a com...

Well, I survived my Stromal Vascular Fraction (SVF)  stem cell treatment #2! As mentioned in previous blogs, this one was a double harvest, meaning half of the cells taken were sent off to a cell bank for future use. Going into this day, I felt the anxiety building because this time I knew what to expect. I knew there would be pain, and some uncomfortable moments. In preparation for this time, I requested some medication to help calm my nerves a little. Excited to go! My rock Before heading into the office, my husband said a beautiful prayer for me as I clung to his hand. He is truly my rock. Arriving at 8:30 a.m., I took my first dose of medication as soon as I got into the office, which I was honestly so thankful to have this time around. The nerves and emotions were definitely in full force by the time I arrived. After a few minutes of arriving, I was taken into the consultation room. My doctor came in, and we discussed where he would harvest the fat from this time. If you have ...

Hello and welcome back! Fear....as defined in the Merriam Webster dictionary, fear is an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger accompanied by increased autonomic activity.    I started having surgeries when I was about 2.  It's not like as we get older our fear goes away, but I think the way in which we express it becomes different. As a child, I felt like I was able to express my fears more freely, and usually did that through crying mostly. I can vividly remember a lot of my departures from my parents as the surgical teams wheeled me away from them, always at a certain point before entering the OR. They were only allowed to go so far with me. The bed I was being wheeled in would stop, and I would hug my parents, listen to them tell me to be brave, and tell me it would all be over soon. I know they were scared too, but they never showed it. As a parent, I can now imagine the fear and anxiety they must have felt themselves. The...