Someone Special to Me

Update: I let the cat out of the bag and told heather about this fundraiser because I was so happy to see we were getting donations and I knew it would lift her spirits so much - and it did! Background story- We first met during our internship in the OC and this was the main time I was able to see Heather functioning well and living her life to the fullest. She loves the beach and loved going to college in Hawaii. Her favorite memories are enjoying the Hawaiian lifestyle and her trips to Sudan to support orphans through her church.  She is the one who enticed me to join Kaiser for my post-doctoral training and then I just kept joining her where she worked at our current clinic. She is an amazingly passionate and knowledgeable eating disorder psychologist. Over the last 7 years, I have been witness to her decline and her struggle to get diagnosed properly. People told her it was psychosomatic or fibromyalgia and did improper imaging, so it was not until a couple years ago that she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and learned that she has several other diagnoses - POTS, mast cell inflammation, chronic fatigue, and cranial cervical instability. She has always been independent financially and is extremely proud of that. Everything she has accomplished, she did all on her own - college, grad school, building her career and living independently. I have been her "person" who comes and brings her shakes or Mac n cheese since she has a very limited soft foods diet. I have learned a lot from her perseverance and her huge tolerance for pain. She actively practiced and developed her inner resources, her ACT skills, gratitude, and faith. She has had to adapt and accept her physical limitations. She has been doing physical therapy among other treatments and now has been undergoing procedures in efforts to help her pain, migraines, and vertigo. Now she is trying to build up the courage to eventually get surgery for her cervical cranial instability. These videos are not of Heather but are of a very sweet and spirited young lady explaining EDS and POTS. Unfortunately this is not the only person struggling with this so it's important to be educated about this. This money will go to her medical bills and any home care needed. You may see her post a beautiful picture of herself and ask "Is she really sick?" Well this is an invisible ailment and she can put on makeup, smile and post a photo on social media but then people question her pain, which is really difficult for me to hear. This is very real and she tries to make the best of her life and cherish the beauty in the world. 
Heather and I in Orange County 2011