Living Chronically Blessed

So here’s the thing, I’m not here to lie to you or put up any façade… my life is complicated. It is not for the faint of heart and it surely isn’t black and white. But I am here to tell you the truth, the truth is that I serve a good God and He is good to me, even when this life is far from good. I believe in finding the good in everything. My take on the world is that everything in of itself is not always good, but in everything you can find good. That’s how I get through this life. That is how I keep fighting, how I keep living. I believe that there is evil and that there is pain in this world. I also believe that there is good and that there is joy in this world.

I have a delicate task on my hands, I’m going to share my story with you, my life with you. It is going to be very easy for you to read my story and decide that evil has won, but If you do that, then evil has won, the enemy has won. But, my story is more than the pain, it is more than the hurt, I am more. God has created me for more than my pain, for more than my sickness, for more than my deepest/darkest struggles. He has made me for good. He has made me for joy. My goal in sharing my story with you is that you can be able to see the good in the hardest of situations. I have been promised that evil will not win. I have been promised the win. I choose to believe that I will win. It is a choice and I want to show you what it means to choose to believe in the good in the midst of overwhelming pain.

I will be 21 years old on February 4th, it will also be my 10th anniversary of being chronically ill. Ten years ago, I was in fifth grade when I fell off the monkey bars at school and fractured my lower back. It would be only the beginning of my life Living Chronically Blessed. The past ten years are filled with a lot, more than most experience in a lifetime. I will catch you up as we go, but for now here’s what you need to know….

Age: 20 years old

Hometown: Plano, TX

Current Residence: I live with my mom and dad in Overland Park, KS. (I’ve moved a lot)

Family: {Dad} Scott, {Mom} Sherrie, {Brother} Christopher, {Sister-in-law} Lenzie
– My mom is disabled, she has a disease called myasthenia gravis. My dad and I are my mom’s caretakers.

Service Dog: Magnolia, she will turn 2 in March

Employment Status: Disabled/ Professional Patient

Hobbies: Writing, going to the dog park, spoiling Magnolia, serving at church

Current Diagnoses

1. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
2. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
3. Chiari Malformation
4. Chronic Migraines
5.  Acid Reflux
6.  Bile Reflux
7. Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
8. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
9. Gastroparesis
10. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
11. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
12. Hypothyroidism
13. Chronic Fatigue
14. Macrocephaly
15. Chronic Vasomotor Rhinitis
16. Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
17. Deviated Septum
18. Chronic Joint Pain
19. Bilateral Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction
20. Vertical Maxillary Excess
21. Class II skeletal/dental malocclusion with anterior open bite
22. Chronic Bilateral L5 pars defects
23. Retrolisthesis of L4 on L5
24. Anterolisthesis of L5 on S1
25. L4-5 Disk Protrusion
26. L5-S1 Disk Bulge
27. Bilateral L5-S1 Foraminal Narrowing
28. Scoliosis
29. Spina Bifida Occulta
30. Pinched nerve L5
31. Inflammatory Arthritis
32. Crohn’s Disease