Perseverance to Serve
I have never been an absolutely small girl. However, I am a girl with a big heart, a will to work hard, and perseverance despite the obstacles. Yet, the obstacle of losing weight and fighting for my healthiest self has been one I have struggled to overcome. One reason for this is the disease I suffer from, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). For those who don’t know, RA is a disease where your body’s immune system attacks it’s own joints causing debilitating pain and immobility over time. I was diagnosed with the disease in college, 11 years ago, and have been fighting it with pride ever since. Still, the one component of life it has beat me at is in management of my weight.
As you can see from the photo above, when times are good I work out hard along with a diet of constantly eating clean, but during flares of my RA, the medication negates all of my progress. The cover photos are 7 months apart, the puffiness in my face reflects the puffiness that forms all over my body when I have to go on months of prednisone to calm a flare. The above picture of a healthier me occurred over a year and a half with clean eating and working out from 2013-2014. The picture below is me right now with my nephew, after being on prednisone for 1 year and following an injury that occurred due to the medication that prevented me from exercising.
Although on this joyous day I should have been able to walk around with my nephew enjoying his first time at the aquarium, I instead could walk only a few feet before needing to sit down and watch from the sidelines. Missing out on being the “fun aunt” has been heartbreaking, but even more distressing has been the thought that I may have to give up the dream I have been working on for eight years. You see, I am almost at the end of an 8 1/2 year journey of becoming a medical doctor and scientist. I earned my PhD in 2014 and in May of 2019 I will graduate from the Medical University of South Carolina with a medical degree, the one dream I have had since I was a young adult. A girl with a dream to attack heart disease from multiple avenues in hopes of improving the lives of friends, family, and those I am yet to meet. However, to do this I must be mobile because I still need to complete residency and a fellowship.
To make this dream come true I, along with my doctors, have come up with a plan. This plan includes returning to my old exercise regimen and continuing to eat clean, but also bariatric surgery to combat the rebound weight I am gaining due to my medications. As many of you know, bariatric surgeries are not covered by many insurance companies, so to accomplish this part of my treatment I am reaching out for your assistance. I will be working through various avenues of friends, family, and fundraisers to gather money for my surgery with a hope of having it in February of 2019 to give myself time to heal before I jump into residency in July 2019. I know that this will not be an easy journey but with your help to improve my health, I can reach my goal to improve the health of others. I am ready to take on the fight.
