The Word is on the Street

At this point, I’m slowly referring people to my blog and I’m so thankful for all the support that has been sent my way.  I’ve been sick for 9 days now so I’m hoping the end of this sickness round is over soon!  It started with a headache, moved to my sinuses (then they exploded), and now it’s settling in my lungs and covering my voice!  I need my voice back so I can sing Sunday.  It’s my week! 

I’ve been doing my breathing treatments and am on an antibiotic in case it isn’t a viral infection.  Just so thankful to be sleeping through the night again.  I went 7 days with not much sleep.  Amazingly, I wasn’t too grumpy.  HAHA.  Last weekend I came home at 1:15 from work Friday and stayed home on the couch ALL weekend.  It was really boring since we don’t have TV channels, but I managed to find things around the house to entertain me.  My mom came up Sunday and brought me food to get me through a few more days of avoiding the grocery store (Thanks Mom).  I’m so glad to have my energy back, but the side effects of the antibiotic are starting to kick in which they usually do on day 4 or 5 so that’s fun. : ) 

Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to call, stop by, email, and post on this blog.  I am very grateful for the prayers as well.  My awesome pastor Tim at Cross Church has asked me to share my story of surrender and release on a future Sunday.  I plan on doing this and I'm honored he asked, but I must get my voice back first!  I hope that my real life story will touch others and encourage them to know that God is always in the details of life and that He really is alive in our church family.  Have a great day everyone and enjoy the sunshine!

My Big Secret

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. Even if you never come to this blog again, it still means a lot that you visited at least once. My big secret is that I have Cystic Fibrosis (CF). I've actually been in denial my whole life until recently.  

I was diagnosed as a young infant. For those of you who may not know much about CF, the average person lives to be 36. I'm 28, but each person's body will deal with the genetic disease differently and a statistical number will be no boundary for me! When I was born in 1983, the doctors basically told my parents do their best and I might make it through high school. Modern medicine, however, has improved the life of people with the disease. Overall, CF can effect many things. The main issues are related to the respiratory and digestive systems. Because my pancreas doesn't produce insulin like a "normal" functioning one would, I am required to take enzymes with each meal to help me absorb the nutrients. Many of you might now understand why I'm so short and skinny (but a healthy weight). Friends and family that spend a lot of time with me know I'm always coughing and often sick. It's because my lungs are bogged down with thick mucus and it's really hard for me to get it out. Believe me, I get annoyed by my own coughing too! In order to combat this challenge, I do breathing treatments daily. My medicine is expensive so insurance is super important. For example, some of my quarterly meds are up to $7,000 (without insurance).

Recently I feel like God has asked me to open up about this so He can receive glory in some way. I am also tired of "hiding" it and making excuses. It may be hard to believe, but I have learned more about CF in the last couple weeks than I have my whole life. I have discovered there is a great deal of support available, milestones, pain and unfortunately short lives, but I must make the best of it and with your help it will make it even easier. In closing, my journey will be what it will be, but I am hopeful. Thank you to those who are going to stick with me during my "CF Journey". Remember to live life and laugh often! Be thankful every day for each part of your body that is healthy because you never know when it might not be that way again. I'm grateful everyday when I get to sing because that's me telling CF that it has no hold over me.

If you are interested in following my blog, there should be a section on the right side of the page for you to enter your email address. If you decided to leave a comment below, make sure if you are using a mobile phone that the comment section tells you it will be submitted for review when you are finished or it will not post. 

I appreciate all the support and prayers.  No matter what happens, God is always GOOD.