Life As A Medical Anomaly Part 1
Adversity
was part of my language long before I knew what the meaning of the word was and
dealing with hardships with difficulties was second to it. Before I was even ever diagnosed with Asthma,
Carpel Tunnel, Tendinitis, Hypothyroidism, Chronic Migraines, and mild Scoliosis
I was born with a speech problem and a motor skill
problem although it was not discovered until I was in Preschool, where those
part of the program realized there were issues with my speech and my motor
functions which started my journey of being a medical anomaly even though I
would not understand until many years later.
In grade school I was put in special education due to the fine motor
skill problem and the speech issues, going through a speech therapist during
the process for the whole length of my grade school years, it was during those
years I would know what adversity was even before knowing the word. I was teased and bullied during grade school,
due to me being in special education and later becoming a heavy seat child, and
through that adversity became a part of my life even outside of school with
being raised by a single parent dealing with the rough times of being a single
parent without support from my birth father.
There
have been many titles and definitions that matched to who I am or was at any
specific time. I think even as kids we go through these changes. Of course as a
child though we don't think of the possible other things that might come such
as diseases we might have to live with for the rest of our lives. Some are more
well-known than others. Some are even more life threatening.
All seem to have stereotypes
of who is affected by it. This is a
story about the real life challenges of one who has many different health
issues and seem to boggle the mind of doctors on more than one occasion, about
a person who tries to be a fighter and is strong because of God, her husband,
and her close friends, and about dealing with health issues some that the world
does not seem to fully understand and know about. This will be a very public from a somewhat
private life, but it is time to have someone who can speak for the voiceless
about how dealing with health issues especially those that seem to puzzle
doctors can affect a person’s life. The
sometimes daily struggle that seems to happen when someone has various health
issues, especially dealing with an ongoing unknown of asthma to the pain issues
from carpel tunnel and tendinitis.
These
issues have definitely affected my work life especially the asthma. Where most people my age might have anywhere
to six to upwards of ten years depending if they went to college, worked during
college, or a number of other factors, however I have a lot less due to having
to quit jobs due to my asthma getting to the point that I would be missing too
much work, or being let go because of attendance issues that were caused by my
asthma being severe. My asthma can end
up acting up due to many things that many people take for granted. Instead of normal allergies that most have, I
deal with sensitivities being sensitive to things without being allergic also
known as non-allergy rhinitis, including everything from dust to cigarette
smoke to different fragrances and cleaning products. When starting disability just having asthma
that was severe hadn’t been enough to get it, but now with all the knowledge of
other medical issues I am not sure where life is going to lead.
Having my
wonderful husband that supports me through everything I do and takes care of me
with having the health issues and loves me even more is one of the wonderful
things that keep me going when a day is difficult. Trying to keep positive and try to still
accomplish the goals that God has put into my heart is another aspect of my
life that keeps me going. I have a good
support system of people who really care about me both online and offline
including many I have known through the years on my Yahoo Groups. Being saved
and having God in my life keeps me strong, determined, and put my fighting
spirit to good use. These support
systems keep me going through the hardest asthma day, pain day, or whatever
else might be in the process for the day.
There are moments even with such a wonderful support system that I have
moments of being depressed or wanting to give up, constant pain can cause these
things, and it can cause days where you feel everything is going to be crappy
even with things can look up.
Through
these posts I hope to talk more about all my health issues everything from the
seriousness of having severe asthma to pain related issues from the carpel
tunnel, tendinitis, chronic migraines, and mild scoliosis. I will talk about getting through the good
and bad times, how I personally handle it, what I have learned through reading
about it, what I have gained and lost in life, and most important the lessons I
have learned about life through the whole process. My name is Mandy and I have these health
issues and this is going to be a story like no other. A story about a real person and real health
issues some that don’t truly know or understand very often. Welcome to a part of my life the ups and
downs, the good and the bad, but this is my life, the life of myself even if I
call myself a medical anomaly that refuses to let health issues completely
control, but also wants more people aware of how these health issues can affect
people and bring into light health issues that can become very serious.
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