Monday, December 31, 2018

Happy New Year! Here Comes 2019!!!

Believe it or not, this lamb was 2 days old...  That poor Mama!
Happy New Year!!!  2018 is a thing of the past and 2019 is sure to be brighter!  As we take the time to reflect on the past year, we must remember the good, along with the bad.  I have to say, good and bad, I’m ready for the new year!  How about everyone else?  Are we all happy to ring in the new year and leave 2018 behind?
            
           It was a year full of revelations, struggles, and triumphs.  I was diagnosed with MS but decided to go back to school to be a psychiatrist anyway.  My legs started to make it extremely difficult to walk but I managed to complete my first semester with a 4.0 GPA despite that.  When life throws boulders at you, you dodge what you can, take a few hits, and recover.
            
My first pint in the UK.  No, I'm not drunk! 
The photo was just brilliantly timed. 
          The last few days have been particularly difficult.  My muscles have felt like they were on fire and my legs have decided to give out multiple times for no reason.  Just to add a new dynamic to the whole situation, the muscle spasms started in my abdomen.  For those who are lucky enough to never feel this, imagine the scene in an alien movie where something is crawling around in the poor human ready to burst its way out.  Yes, everything stayed in place but, boy, there were a few times I wasn’t so sure it would.
            
            Despite all this, I like to reflect on the good.  I have an amazing family who is always there for me.  I have friends that are there to celebrate the good days and let me vent on the bad days.  There are times I have questioned my faith but, in the end, I know God is there through it all.  He never gives us more than we can handle; though, it might feel that way at times. 

            
           So, as we bring in the new year, just know 2019 is bound to hold amazing things ahead.  Happy New Years, Everyone!!!


A great family photo from a few years ago!

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Welcome to My Crazy Life



A Beautiful, Sunny, Windy Day in
Estes Park.
          The saying goes, “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade”.  When you are young, you hope for lemons because that means lemonade!  As an adult, that saying takes on a whole new meaning.  You try to dodge the lemons because who wants to deal with them!  Sometimes, however, you are given lemons no matter what you do so you must learn to make the best lemonade you can and keep smiling.

            I have had one of those years full of lemons, but I keep making lemonade and doing my best to stay on top of it all.  My name is Victoria.  I am a 25-year-old woman who was diagnosed with MS this last year.  I was told to cut back on stress so, of course, I decided to head back to school.  I’m now a full-time student trying to finish out my undergraduate so I can go to Medical School to be a Psychiatrist.  DO school, here I come!  

Is there a doubt we are mother and daughter?!
I obviously got my mama's looks. 
            The last month has been both festively fun and a struggle.  While trying to enjoy the normal holiday whoopla, a flair decided to impact some of the festivities.  I started having issues walking to the point it has been difficult walking from my bedroom to the living room.  Thank goodness for winter break and fortunate timing!  Because I have an amazing family, they hardly let me miss out.  My mother was impacted by disseminated Lyme almost 11 years ago and was put into a wheelchair because of it.  To keep me from missing out on our normal traditions, they had me use Mom’s spare electric chair, so I could still be apart.  I told my mama, I have always loved us matching but this was farther than I would have liked.  Oh well, like I said when life gives you lemons…   In my family, we have learned to turn them into far more than just lemonade.

            
Sibling Love!  We make a goofy trio.
               My home life is full of an amazing family.  We never leave someone behind or struggling.  My mama has faced more than anyone should but still smiled through the Cancer, Lyme, and years of uncertainty.  Not only did she come out on top but runs a non-profit (Healing Fibers Foundation) to help others find a means of therapeutic relaxation through fiber arts as she did.  My dada has always been there for each of us as we struggled through our health issues, even as he worked through some of his own.  He also now runs the Colorado division of the Sugar Glider Rescue.  Unfortunately, because he is too soft-hearted to turn away a wounded creature, we have 50 sugar gliders in our house.  My little brother, who is 2 years younger, struggles with Muscular Dystrophy.  Although it is tough, he goes to therapy every week to stay on top of it and is making the necessary adjustments to his diet.  Not only that, he is accelerating in his career as an IT Architect.   Then there is the youngest boy.  Seven years younger than me but bossy enough to sound like the oldest.  He is deaf in one ear due to a virus when he was young.  This hardly holds him back.  He is headed to Medical School as well and wants to be a surgeon. 

Father and Daughter.  Out of the three siblings,
I was the one to get Dada's personality.
            
                  So, while we have been through more than most families ever face, we didn’t let it take us down.  It made us closer as a family.  When you are facing these types of struggles, you have two options.  You can either withdraw from life and let it tear you apart.  Or, you can face it head on and take life by storm.  That doesn’t mean you don’t have bad days.  I have had those days where tears were ready to spill any minute and, sometimes, just wouldn’t refrain no matter how hard I tried.  Those are the times you cry until you can’t any longer, throw some water in your face, and move on while praying tomorrow is easier to handle. 

          
A family that sticks together through it all!
        This is my blog about life while facing this type of obstacle.  There are good times and bad times.  Times you think your life is too tough to handle and times life seems wonderful despite everything else happening.  You just keep smiling and move forward.