As some of you know, I have a condition called Chiari Malformation and an autoimmune disease that I was born with. I don’t really like sharing these things because I don’t want people to look or think of me differently. I don’t want people to think I can’t or shouldn’t do things that “normal” healthy people can do. In some things I have limitations, but I never want other people to decide what my opportunities should be because of my illness. And I don’t want to miss out on opportunities because people assume I can’t or shouldn’t do them because of my illness. I always want to be given the chance to be “normal”. Of course, if you REALLY know me, you know I’m far from normal! Being weird helps keep me sane, which is ironic. In 2007, I almost died from my illness. I’ve been through many different treatments. I’ve done 3 rounds of cancer treatments to try and “kill” my immune system to “reboot” it. That worked, but didn’t last long each time. I’ve done alternative IV treatments that worked, but never lasted. So, some treatments have helped and some haven’t. There isn’t a “fix” for what I have, but the one thing over the years that has helped was an IV treatment that cost us $4,000. It helps take away a lot of my neurological symptoms that my Chiari causes. I got my first IV in 2015 and I was supposed to get another 6 months after the first one per the doctors counsel. The doctor said it would take about 2 months after the administration of the IV to start feeling the benefits and he was right. At around 2 months I started feeling so much better and at 3 months I felt the best I had ever felt in my entire life!! Well, unfortunately we couldn’t afford to do the 2nd round 6 months after the first IV because we couldn’t afford another $4,000. For about 2 years after the IV I felt the best EVER, but unfortunately the past 9 months my health has been deteriorating. We’ve tried other medications and treatments that are cheaper (still super expensive), but none of them have helped. I don’t want to go back to how I was in 2007 and the longer I wait the harder it will be to build my body back up to feeling good again. William and I have decided to be more open about my health because it’s getting harder to hide that I don’t feel well and one of my doctors suggested trying a fund raising campaign. We are starting this campaign to try and raise enough money for me to get the TWO IV treatments that the doctor wanted me to have in the first place. Even if we don’t reach the goal for 2 treatments, I would be on cloud nine if I could at least get one so that I can start feeling better. I’ve gotten pretty good at pretending that I feel fine. You either go into the depths of despair OR you pretend and you keep on going even though it takes everything in you to stay strong mentally and physically. I don’t want to pretend that I feel fine anymore, I actually WANT to feel fine. I’m so grateful for all the people that continue to pray for my health. If you can’t support financially, I will take all the prayers I can get. Or if you could share this, we would also really appreciate that as well. Also, if you would like to learn more about Chiari or my health, William or I would be happy to talk to you about it and give you all the details. Thanks so much!