Teresa “T.C.” Raines
December 7th, 2007
In December 2005, I lost my job. Then, just a few months later in February 2006, I was seriously injured in a bicycle accident. While riding my bike, I lost my balance and the bike fell and landed on top of my left leg. The accident left me severely injured, and forced me to be in a wheel chair for four months. The accident also left me with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), an uncommon, chronic condition that usually affects a person’s arm or leg. I had to go through eight different procedures and two surgeries because of the condition. Now, I also have to take four different prescription medicines to manage my condition and without them I cannot function. Read More »
Heidi Benz
September 28th, 2007
My name is Heidi, and I live in northwest Mississippi. I have been disabled for 10 years now. My disability started with a car crash back in 1997. My car was hit head on by a speeding dump truck that did not have any brakes. Due to that accident, I under went three back surgeries, as well as surgery on both shoulders and both knees. During the treatment for my injuries, one of my doctors ran a bunch of blood tests and found out that I had Lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes swelling and pain in my body. The pain I experience from Lupus is in addition to the pain I already encountered because I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, as well as arthritis caused by my injuries. Then about six years ago I was told that I have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Struggling with all these issues was difficult enough, and while seeing a psychiatrist for depression, he had me take this test that showed him I am Bipolar. Read More »
Robert Shimmons
March 10th, 2008
Labor Day weekend 2004, my father was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer that had metastasized to his liver. He underwent surgery and they removed most of the cancer in his colon, but could not remove the tumors in his liver because there were too many. When we asked his surgeon for a prognosis, he said, “Well, I’m not going to say he won’t be here at Christmas.” He went on to say that 25% of patients with this type of cancer are still alive after 5 years.
To me, 25% didn’t sound like good odds. I only knew I wasn’t ready to lose my Dad, so we better be part of the 25%. My father was only 63 years old when he was diagnosed and I was getting married the next month. He needed to be with us. Read More »
Colleen “Candy” Phillips
March 7th, 2008
My story doesn’t involve devastating illnesses or deadly diseases, but it does involve how I cope on a daily basis and take control of my life filled with a chronic illness and pain.
In 1990, I was sitting at my desk and could not put together a coherent statement. I went home that night and was so dizzy I couldn’t stand or sit. I began to have a loud ringing in my ears and could not hear very well. I also starting seeing a gray band across my line of sight and I experienced shooting pains down my arms and legs. Because of the dizziness and the impaired vision, I was at the point where I paid someone to drive me to work and from work everyday. One day it was so bad I just laid my head on my desk and started to cry. At that point, my supervisor called my parents to pick me up and I found myself off of work for six months. Read More »
Pamela Squires
March 10th, 2008
When my now-age 25 daughter Keren was four years old, she lined up her many stuffed animals on the sofa and proceeded to lecture to them. “Ah,” I thought. “A natural teacher!” I did not know the heartache that was coming. In junior high school, she started to struggle to keep up with her friends in her ability to learn. Her self-esteem plunged. Many kids with LD/ADHD begin to think that they are just plain stupid and, since learning disabilities are a hidden handicap, they often are misunderstood, even though these are neurobiological disorders that affect the brain. You cannot imagine a mother’s distress when you know that your child has above-average intelligence, but see her struggling and sad. Read More »
Lois Jenkins
December 21st, 2007
I love spending time with my family, especially my daughter and my grandchildren. Taking care of my family and looking after my own health are major parts of my life.
I suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes and chronic arthritis in my back due to multiple surgeries I have had on my back. My various conditions require me to take more than 12 different mediciations on a monthly basis. Things are even more complicated because some of my medications cannot be taken at the same time due to harmful effects from the combination of the drugs. When I lost my insurance I was unable to afford my medicines and was afraid to ask for help. To make matters worse, my mother passed away around the same time that I lost my coverage. It was truly a difficult period for me.Since I was without coverage, I had to rely on my personal finances to pay for my medications. With some of my prescriptions costing more than $300 a month, budgeting my finances became a major stress in my life. My finances were stretched extremely thin and the stress made me unable to function. Read More »
Linda Payne
September 21st, 2007
My whole life I have been taking care of other people. I used to be a nurse before I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and ultimately forced to leave my job. This happened in 2005 and was a very difficult situation. Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain illness that causes muscular aches, pain and stiffness, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. Needless to say, it was difficult for me to wake up every morning and lead a normal life. To be a wife. To be a mother. To continue living out my life’s dream to be a nurse. Not only was I struggling with my disease, but the same year, my husband Vincent got very sick and was diagnosed with diabetes. To make matters worse,… Read More »
Alison Stanley
September 11th, 2007
I will never forget, it was one of those wonderful snowy days on the east coast in the fall of 2004, and the doctor called and said it was indeed Stage Three breast cancer with a 9 centimeter tumor. It was surreal, because I remember looking out and seeing how peaceful it was, how calming, yet knowing I had such turmoil inside. It was really devastating. You panic and you sort of feel out of body for a while, and then you will yourself back into your body and say, what do you do now? It wasn’t until months later, but eventually I really took it onto myself to really understand what these drugs were about. Read More »
Pradeep Kharel
September 6th, 2007
My name is Pradeep Kharel and I come from Nepal, a small landlocked country between China and India. Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, is one of our main attractions in the tourism industry. I have spent most of my life as a teacher of Art and hope to pursue this profession here in the USA in some way or the other after I get my green card, which will be in a year or so. Soon after my arrival in the USA, I was diagnosed with diabetes with the blood sugar count of 750!! This was devastating news and the situation was worsened as I had no source of income nor did I have insurance. However , Somerset Medical Center, New Jersey, looked after me in the initial stages and saved my life. I shall be ever grateful to them.As I had no earning I was facing a scary and precarious future when, at times, my wife could not buy me my very expensive medicines and blood testing equipment. Since her meagre income was insufficient to make ends meet I was contemplating leaving my family here and going back to Nepal. I had sacrificed a lot to be here with my loved ones but was soon beginning to give up hope and face a lonesome and bleak future back home. Read More »
Katie Carter
October 11th, 2007
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 12 years old and have now been living with it for almost 14 years. Diabetes is a hard disease - it is a daily task to manage my blood sugars and I needed to understand my body, which is hard when you are only 12. But you know what? It is a controllable disease and it was in MY hands to be successful at it. I have always been blessed and had treatment options available to me although the options now, versus even just 12 years ago when I was diagnosed, are amazing. It really makes the disease controllable and it is further proof that you can LIVE with a disease; it doesn’t have to be your life. I remember taking just one insulin shot a day and since then I have been through numerous treatment options – 2 different types of shots, 4 times a day, 10 times a day, etc. It becomes a hard thing to manage when all you can think about is when your next shot is or whether you remembered to keep up with testing your blood sugar…. Read More »
Art Silva
March 7th, 2008
Now in my mid-fifties, I regret that I didn’t take better care of myself when I was younger. I participated in a lot of sports and considered myself quite athletic. I often played softball, flag football, and basketball to keep in shape but admittedly, my weight fluctuated throughout my adulthood. I would diet occasionally but more often than not, I would eat irresponsibly. As I entered my forties, I didn’t exercise as much, and still continued to eat badly. Retired from the military, I no longer had to worry about the strict physical standards the military demanded of me in order to continue to serve. Read More »
Velma Cornelius
November 8th, 2007
I have a very big family that I love dearly. My sister lives with me and I have three children and 15 grandchildren. One of my favorite things to do is spend time with my grandchildren, who I just adore. Family is very important to me and that is why I was so scared when I found out I had high blood pressure. One day I was talking to my sister and she told me that she thought I might have high blood pressure and that I should go visit the doctor. I had no idea whether her diagnosis was right or wrong, but I decided it was better to be safe than sorry, so I scheduled an appointment with my doctor. Read More »
Jean Yates
January 18th, 2008
My love for my family is matched only by my love for the outdoors. I try to lead an active life by being outside in the sunshine and working in my garden. I suffer from a variety of ailments that, if untreated, threaten to keep me inside and on my couch for the rest of my life!I take five different medications for my conditions, which affects every aspect of my life. I have high blood pressure, which requires me to take medication to avoid having a stroke. My restless leg syndrome keeps my legs kicking all night and I wake up exhausted. Acid reflux prevents me from enjoying virtually every yummy food….even tomatoes!. Read More »
Linda Kaminski
March 10th, 2008
Everything in my life can be divided into one of two categories – before or after April 2005. That is when I had a heart attack and six bypass surgeries. I was only 46, and I nearly died. Before I had a heart attack, I rarely exercised and had been a smoker since I was 16. Still, I had no idea that heart disease could impact me in such a dramatic way. When I thought of someone having a heart attack, I thought of an old man. If anything, I was more concerned about cancer than the health of my heart. But the truth is heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined – including breast and lung cancers. Read More »
Janet Nealy
September 21st, 2007
Due to Hurricane Katrina, I and some of my family were forced to leave our homes in New Orleans and evacuate to Dallas, Texas before the hurricane hit. That was two years ago. When I finally returned home, I was very fortunate to find my home untouched by the hurricane. However, both of my daughters’ homes were severely damaged, forcing them and their families to come live with me. Because of Hurricane Katrina, I did not just have to leave my home for a long period of time, I also lost my job and subsequently my health insurance. I had no money, no job, and no medicine. Since I have high blood pressure and glaucoma, it is very important that I receive my prescription medicines in order to maintain a healthy life. In this nation of ours, I know there are people that are struggling to just live, and are wondering “what shall I do?” I have often felt that same way. Fortunately, one of my daughters told me how to find help through patient assistance programs offered by the pharmaceutical companies. Read More »
