Stand by Myra Blackwell
Donation protected
I am writing for my friend Myra, a single mom of a 16-year-old son, who is a beautiful soul going through the toughest test of her life. If you cannot give financially we humbly ask for prayers regarding her two unexpected major surgeries. On January 9, 2018, Myra’s life took a very unexpected turn that will result in her inability to do her work for the foreseeable future.
Initially being treated for bursitis and tendinitis of her shoulders, Myra’s MRI results in January of 2018 showed multiple full-thickness tendon tears in both of her rotator cuffs. The source of Myra’s injuries is unknown, but she is working with her doctors to rule out any possible underlying conditions. She will undergo two separate shoulder surgeries along with months of significant rehab and physical therapy. The doctors are predicting that she will be out of work for at least the remainder of the year, and she says this “breaks my heart and makes me anxious about how I am going to adequately provide for my son.”
The first surgery will be an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair on her left shoulder tomorrow, February 16th. She will have to do intensive rehabilitation, and will not be able to drive for at least six weeks following the procedure. She is fortunate to have her mother in a neighboring city to come help care for her, along with coworkers and friends, like those pictured, who will rotate providing meals and transportation to physical therapy and her son to school and activities. If that surgery is successful and the shoulder progresses well with therapy, they will do a similar surgery to her right shoulder roughly 4 to 5 months out.
Myra graduated from UNC
(A lady never tells her age :-)
Shortly afterward, she attended massage therapy school at The Body Therapy Institute because she wanted to “give back,” as that is the cloth she is cut from - she is a giver and not very good at receiving.
Myra is currently self-employed as a massage therapist, and for the last nine years has been contracted with Duke, UNC, and various schools in the Chapel Hill Carrboro City School district (10 or more during the academic year). She takes pride in her work as a massage therapist, working with her clients to aid in healing and overall wellness.
Being self-employed, disability income is sparse rendering financial stability as her greatest concern. As someone who is “used to giving and helping others,” Myra has trouble asking for help and worries that “other people have a greater need than I do. I don’t want to take from others and I am embarrassed to ask. I have always been so supportive, strong and independent. It’s difficult to be on the other side of giving”
Myra stated.
I explained that both of those statements may possibly be true; as a psychologist, I also reiterated that her fear of bankruptcy, large medical bills, how she was going to pay her rent, provisions for her son Chandler (a sophomore in Chapel Hill schools) were also very real. She shared that she has been tearful, has always been a happy soul, is losing sleep, and is relying heavily on her faith to deal with her anxiety.
To me, as the daughter of a single mother, this is every mom’s worst nightmare; A Health condition that renders you unavailable to work and not provide for your child or children. Life can change on a dime. Good parents simply want to provide emotionally, physically, and financially for their children.
I first met Myra when our two sons were in kindergarten. Within a month of meeting her, there was a field trip and I just began chatting her up because that is who I am; I tend to be too verbose and she said to her son’s father “who is that white lady that will not stop talking to me - what is it with her?” That has been a joke for over 12 years!
Our group, (A few of us in these pictures) is tight. Together we have been through divorces, deaths of parents, cancer, and we are a tribe; a motley Crew but a tribe nevertheless.
Myra bends backward for other people. This was exemplified as she went above and beyond to make my 40th birthday special. She drove seven hours, to what she and a friend (pictured above), call Deliverance “lost in the back roads of Tennessee” to my surprise 40th birthday; back then I teased her of all the adventures yet to come. This, however, is more of a horrific storm; a surreal nightmare and so I have been praying into this for over a week and Myra has finally conceded to allow me to post this go fund me page.
Myra is incredibly kind, giving, humble, quiet, Christian woman; simply a beautiful soul. She a wonderful mother, and rarely misses her son's band concerts, football or lacrosse games. Her son is an A/B student one of the politest young man you’ll ever meet. Both of us have mamas boys if you will, even though they are taller than us.
Again her biggest concern is providing for her son Chandler, and the financial instability. She has told me I am an incredibly persistent friend and has finally conceded to allow me to ask for financial assistance. I have pointed out all the time she has supported our church angel tree over the years, all the times she has bought other kids basketball tickets and clothes, and selflessly given her time to countless kids through volunteering at elementary schools and sports programs in the Chapel Hill - Durham area.
I hope you can find it in your heart to give whatever you are led to give to this beautiful soul of a woman. If you do not have one dollar or five dollars to give no worries; we simply asked for prayers. Thank you for taking time to read this. I have been told I am not very succinct and talk too much.
Sigh...
And yet I would do anything for my sister Myra.
Initially being treated for bursitis and tendinitis of her shoulders, Myra’s MRI results in January of 2018 showed multiple full-thickness tendon tears in both of her rotator cuffs. The source of Myra’s injuries is unknown, but she is working with her doctors to rule out any possible underlying conditions. She will undergo two separate shoulder surgeries along with months of significant rehab and physical therapy. The doctors are predicting that she will be out of work for at least the remainder of the year, and she says this “breaks my heart and makes me anxious about how I am going to adequately provide for my son.”
The first surgery will be an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair on her left shoulder tomorrow, February 16th. She will have to do intensive rehabilitation, and will not be able to drive for at least six weeks following the procedure. She is fortunate to have her mother in a neighboring city to come help care for her, along with coworkers and friends, like those pictured, who will rotate providing meals and transportation to physical therapy and her son to school and activities. If that surgery is successful and the shoulder progresses well with therapy, they will do a similar surgery to her right shoulder roughly 4 to 5 months out.
Myra graduated from UNC
(A lady never tells her age :-)
Shortly afterward, she attended massage therapy school at The Body Therapy Institute because she wanted to “give back,” as that is the cloth she is cut from - she is a giver and not very good at receiving.
Myra is currently self-employed as a massage therapist, and for the last nine years has been contracted with Duke, UNC, and various schools in the Chapel Hill Carrboro City School district (10 or more during the academic year). She takes pride in her work as a massage therapist, working with her clients to aid in healing and overall wellness.
Being self-employed, disability income is sparse rendering financial stability as her greatest concern. As someone who is “used to giving and helping others,” Myra has trouble asking for help and worries that “other people have a greater need than I do. I don’t want to take from others and I am embarrassed to ask. I have always been so supportive, strong and independent. It’s difficult to be on the other side of giving”
Myra stated.
I explained that both of those statements may possibly be true; as a psychologist, I also reiterated that her fear of bankruptcy, large medical bills, how she was going to pay her rent, provisions for her son Chandler (a sophomore in Chapel Hill schools) were also very real. She shared that she has been tearful, has always been a happy soul, is losing sleep, and is relying heavily on her faith to deal with her anxiety.
To me, as the daughter of a single mother, this is every mom’s worst nightmare; A Health condition that renders you unavailable to work and not provide for your child or children. Life can change on a dime. Good parents simply want to provide emotionally, physically, and financially for their children.
I first met Myra when our two sons were in kindergarten. Within a month of meeting her, there was a field trip and I just began chatting her up because that is who I am; I tend to be too verbose and she said to her son’s father “who is that white lady that will not stop talking to me - what is it with her?” That has been a joke for over 12 years!
Our group, (A few of us in these pictures) is tight. Together we have been through divorces, deaths of parents, cancer, and we are a tribe; a motley Crew but a tribe nevertheless.
Myra bends backward for other people. This was exemplified as she went above and beyond to make my 40th birthday special. She drove seven hours, to what she and a friend (pictured above), call Deliverance “lost in the back roads of Tennessee” to my surprise 40th birthday; back then I teased her of all the adventures yet to come. This, however, is more of a horrific storm; a surreal nightmare and so I have been praying into this for over a week and Myra has finally conceded to allow me to post this go fund me page.
Myra is incredibly kind, giving, humble, quiet, Christian woman; simply a beautiful soul. She a wonderful mother, and rarely misses her son's band concerts, football or lacrosse games. Her son is an A/B student one of the politest young man you’ll ever meet. Both of us have mamas boys if you will, even though they are taller than us.
Again her biggest concern is providing for her son Chandler, and the financial instability. She has told me I am an incredibly persistent friend and has finally conceded to allow me to ask for financial assistance. I have pointed out all the time she has supported our church angel tree over the years, all the times she has bought other kids basketball tickets and clothes, and selflessly given her time to countless kids through volunteering at elementary schools and sports programs in the Chapel Hill - Durham area.
I hope you can find it in your heart to give whatever you are led to give to this beautiful soul of a woman. If you do not have one dollar or five dollars to give no worries; we simply asked for prayers. Thank you for taking time to read this. I have been told I am not very succinct and talk too much.
Sigh...
And yet I would do anything for my sister Myra.
Organizer and beneficiary
Sarah Cameron
Organizer
Chapel Hill, NC
Myra Blackwell
Beneficiary
