<div>I’m Christina Pearson, and I am looking for a bit of financial, emotional, and spiritual support as I am to undergo open heart surgery around the 27th of October! It was previously scheduled for October 7th.  
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<div>On the 7th I went in all ready to have my heart operated on!   After both a nurse and a doctor examined me there was concern I might have either a bacterial or fungal infection, as there was a slight rash under my left breast. So there I was, lying on the gurney all prepped for the operation, IV ports in both arms,  when the decision was made to postpone my surgery til later in the month! 
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<div>I was sent home with an oral antifungal medication and antibiotics which I am diligently taking.  
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<div>Urk!!!  So I am in waiting mode once again.  This is the third time my operation date has changed, believe it or not. (First postponement was due to Docs taking summer vacations, second was due to scheduling problems, and now this is the third time!)
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<div>I must say I am tired of waiting as my heart condition has put my whole life on hold! 
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<div>The picture you see of me above greeting two sweet donkeys is one of my favorites, taken at the Good Enough Ranch at last year’s BFRB Retreat.
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<div>For 25 years, I facilitated annual retreats and national conferences for those suffering from hair pulling, skin picking, and related body-focused disorders. I was the driving force behind bringing BFRBs out of shameful hiding and into public awareness, and I’m not done yet as there is still SO much to do! I did this work through the national nonprofit I established in 1990, originally named the Trichotillomania Learning Center (TLC), but renamed in 2014 as the TLC Foundation for BFRBs.
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<div>what are BFRBs, you may ask! The term is actually an umbrella term for what are today called Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors, whose name I came up with in the early 1990’s. I had started a support group for hair pullers, and soon we had skin pickers join us. Over time, other types of body focused behaviors began showing up, so I created the term BFRBs to become an umbrella for us all.
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<div>I finally felt I needed to leave the organization which I founded and nurtured for 23 years as I felt I could no longer be myself. I can assure you; leaving TLC was the biggest emotional tragedy of my life for so many reasons.
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<div>after my departure. TLC began floating off-course, eventually folding under the direction of five (idiot - in my opinion!) doctors who really had no idea how to proceed. And, I can’t believe they never sought my help! It broke my heart in so so so many ways.
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<div>I now need a lifesaving reconstruction of my poor heart! It would be such a tremendous blessing to not have to stress over money for a while, so I can really focus on my path to recovery.
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<div>so I am asking you, whether you are a member of the emerging BFRB community, or any other group or community, Or perhaps just an amazing single individual, to support me by helping out with some much needed financial assistance. As I have a minimum 8-12 week road to recovery, I also want to invite you to call, text, or video chat with me! I will need all the heart-connection I can get in order to navigate well at this point in my life.
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<div>i do have now thirty years of strong, resilient, BFRB recovery, and for anyone struggling who wants to know how I actually did it, I am happy to share with you the basic foundation, then the rest is up to you!
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<div>in closing, the bottom line is we can do this!
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<div>All my Love, In All Ways,
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<div>Christina Pearson
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I’m Christina Pearson, & due for open heart surgery!

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