Stoeger Strong

Our dear friend Heather has been fighting multiple degenerative diseases. We would love to help out their family with bills, Christmas, and caregiver fees. The best way to describe some of what The Stoeger Family has encountered in the past years is by copying a post Jon wrote on Facebook thanking our community for all of the support. Here is an excerpt of this post.

"As many of you know, Heather has been fighting multiple degenerative diseases: neurological, cardiovascular, genetic, autoimmune, reproductive, and small vessel. The past 11 months have been especially hard, as her health has declined significantly and her conditions are progressing faster than we hoped. She is now fully disabled, bedbound, and needs 24-hour care. Her symptoms and pain can change not just from hour to hour, but minute to minute, and we are doing our very best to take each day, and each unpredictable moment, as it comes.

Even with everything she faces, Heather continues to show a kind of strength that I can only describe as remarkable. She pushes through her cardiac/neuro/ortho PT each morning, even on days when all she can manage are simple range-of-motion stretches. Her weekly coping therapy has helped her navigate the constant grief and loss that come with degenerative illness. She leans on her creative outlets, but in recent months she’s only been able to work on them in small bursts. Her pain has become so severe that many hours are spent simply trying to breathe through it. I am so proud of how she handles all of this with such grace.

If you know Heather well, you know she’s a goofy, talkative person who loves to connect with people. You won’t get a short text from her, you’ll get a novel. So when she grows quiet, those closest to her know how badly her body is hurting. On those days, when she’s too weak to be on her phone, I make sure she still sees every message, prayer, and act of kindness. You’d be surprised how something as small as a heart emoji or a “thinking of you” text can lift her spirits. It truly makes all the difference.

Through all of this, one thing remains constant: her heart. Even as her body grows weaker, her empathy has only grown stronger. She still worries about everyone else before herself, especially our kids. Some days she feels lost, frustrated, or discouraged, yet she remains grateful and never thinks of herself as a victim. She often talks about “perspective,” saying that we’re all climbing our own Mt. Everests, and that each person’s struggle is hard in its own way. I’ve learned a lot from her view on that.

Chronic disease has stolen nearly everything from her, yet after 23 years by her side, I can say with certainty that it did not steal her capacity to love. If anything, it has made that part of her even bigger. Her compassion, her humor, and her ability to make people feel seen are just as strong as ever. Encouraging others through her own suffering is simply who she is, and I love every bit of her for it"

Our community is a wonderful, giving community and we all thank those who can contribute to helping out our friends The Stoegers.