Life's Little Challenges

This page is dedicated to those who have endured health problems,
are victims of unfortunate accidents, or are care givers to loved ones.

Maybe it's just because I'm over 40 now, but it seems as though the last few years have been a real "eye opener" for me. I have had to cope with terrible illnesses of loved ones and then I myself have been diagnosed with several different health problems. Worst of all, I had an unfortunate work related accident in 1997 and am suffering pain every day and have been unable to work since.

What Follows is My Story Since Childhood:

I was born in January of 1959. As a child, I was fairly healthy. I had the usual colds, three-day measles, mumps, chicken pox, etc. I had my tonsils out at about age 6, not uncommon, and minor eye surgery about a year later for a "lazy eye". I considered myself pretty lucky. I never broke a bone or had unusual problems. But then I reached puberty!

I "became a woman" at age 8 while at Brownie Girl Scout Camp! The real troubles began shortly after that. I began to get bladder and kidney infections rather frequently. I had cramps so bad each month that I would have to miss school. By age 12, I was seeing a Gynecologist and they were running numerous tests on me trying to establish a root cause. Finally, about 2 years later, I was diagnosed with Endometriosis. I had complications like PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease). Then I was one of the unfortunate young women to get Toxic Shock Syndrome. And this was only the start of my problems!

At age 22, I had to have an emergency hysterectomy. A routine Pap Smear said I had cervical and ovarian cancer. This was one of the hardest things I've had to endure in life. Never having an opportunity to have a child of my own was a hard pill to swallow. However, the surgery was very successful and I have no signs of cancer to this day.

Fortunately, my health problems subsided for a number of years. Then, about 6 years later, I was dating the man who would later become my husband. His father had just died of a horrible disease called Scleroderma. There is no cure and the dear man suffered for over 5 years before he finally passed away. I wanted to learn all I could about this tragic disease and it's effects. I thought it would help both his family and myself to come to terms with it.

About 6 weeks before my wedding day, I awoke one morning and got up to sip my first cup of coffee. Imagine my horror as I tried to sip and spilled the entire cup down my chest! My face was paralyzed on one side and I began drooling out of the corner of my mouth. I couldn't open or close my eye, it was stuck open! I screamed for my fiance' and he rushed me to the hospital where I was told I had Bells Palsy. I would end up suffering with it for almost a year before it subsided.

My husband and I were married in August of 1987. His Mother had begun to show signs of poor health that same year. She complained of discomfort, but couldn't express what was really bothering her. After taking her to many different doctors, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. This is one of the hardest illnesses to deal with for both the family members and the unfortunate victim. We contacted support groups for care givers and had to put her in the care of a nursing home. It was so hard to watch her deteriorate and eventually not recognize her children. My heart goes out to everyone whose had to endure watching a loved one with Alzheimers. My Mother-in-Law passed away in 1995 from an aneurism in her heart. The Alzheimers would have taken her if her heart hadn't given up first.

My poor husband was now without either of his parents at the age of 35. At this point I again felt very blessed that my parents and younger brother were in good health and I was enjoying good health too. Then I reached the age of 37. I was laying on the couch watching television one evening. It was December 28th, 1996. Suddenly, my heart began to race uncontrollably and I couldn't catch my breath. I was scared to death! My husband rushed me to the hospital emergency room and I was given a full round of tests. I was later diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse. While they were running the tests on my heart, they discovered I had multiple gall stones that were traveling towards my liver. I had to have my gall bladder removed immediately. Well, by now I was beginning to feel old before my time! I continued to have chest pains and saw a Cardiologist for about a year. He began to suspect that my problem was not heart related and referred me back to my general practitioner. After running mammograms, ultrasounds, blood workups, EKG's and just about every test known to man, I was told that I had a shadow in my left breast. Further testing revealed it was a benign cyst. I breathed a sigh of relief, but too soon. He then informed me my blood workup indicated a "Positive ANA" which has something to do with an autoimmune disease. Diseases normally associated with a positive ANA are Scleroderma and Lupus! He continued...my chest pain is a condition which is very painful and there is apparently no cure...I have Fibromyalgia. I went home that evening and I have to believe I was in shock. After all I had learned about Scleroderma and not knowing a thing about Lupus or Fibromyalgia, I thought I was dying! Or at least I felt as though I wanted to die!

In January, 2001, I received a phone call from my Mother. My Daddy hadn't felt well and they had taken him to the hospital for a chest x-ray. I'll never forget that date, it was January 15th. The x-ray had revealed that my father was suffering with Stage 4 Lung Cancer and it was terminal. Of course I flew home right away and just two months later on March 29th, 2001 my beloved Daddy lost his brief but valiant battle with cancer.

Last, but certainly not least, is my current problem which was my accident! For those of you with back injuries or those who are on Worker's Compensation, I am including some links below that should be of some comfort and help. Because my back problems are "on-going", the story is still incomplete!

I am a survivor!

I continue to battle with my back injuries, Fibromyalgia, Mitral Valve Prolapse, and Rumatoid Arthritis, but I am thankful and blessed for it could be worse.

Helpful and Informative Links on Following Page