Well, I tried this once before & I couldn't get it to download. Maybe God doesn't really want me to do this! I know I sure don't!!
I'm not gonna go through what I put down before. One time was enough! So I'm gonna give the quick & easy version.
I am the eldest of 4 girls. Three of us, including me, inherited an extremely rare disease called lipodystrophy. Lipo means "fat" & dystrophy means "breakdown". Basically, I have a fat face, neck, & upper sholders. There is NO fat on the rest of my body! This disease is carried by the male & inherited by the female(for any of you that know anything about genetics, figure that one out!).
My period started messing up when I was 18. In my 20's, symptoms showed up every time I turned around! This disease causes me to have more testosterone(male hormone), so I started shaving my face when I was 23. I am blonde with blue eyes, but all of my excessive hair is black. I started shaving my arms about age 25. I developed muscles without even working out! When I did work out some in college, my thighs got so big, I couldn't wear my bluejeans! So I quit!!
I was made fun of when I started teaching biology in highschool. I was nearly thrown out of church because a member's daughter told her that I had had a sex change operation. And all of that doesn't even begin to describe all that I went through & all the hurt I had. In my 20's, I thought God either didn't exist or He didn't give a d---!
I went to the Mayo Clinic many times during the year of 1990. They were clueless. It wasn't till I moved back to Alabama that a physician at UAB hospital diagnosed it as Lipodystrophy. Then I got to go to Boston & be a guina pig for the research center at Beth Israel Hospital a total of 6 times. And I didn't have to pay for it!
The sister a year younger that myself, Gwyn, died 10 days after she turned 30 due to this disease. She & I were very close.
Doctors have told me that I wouldn't live to see 40. Well, this past March, I had a BIG birthday party to celebrate my 40th birthday! But I'm not counting on any other birthdays just yet. I'm taking it a day at a time.
I have high blood pressure that has caused me to have one episode of heart failure. It goes up at the slightest hint of my doing something physical. The other day I tried to wash a few dishes. After just 2 plates, 4 bowls, & a pitcher I had to sit down because I was out of breath, having heart palpatations, & my legs hurting. It drives me crazy sometimes!
I have high tryglycerides(fat in the blood) & low HDL(good cholesteral). I have had 3 attacks of pancreatitis due to the tryglycerides. My sister, Gwyn, died of her one & only attack of pancreatitis.
I have had diabetes for less than 2 years. I thought you had to have diabetes for a lot of years before you started getting complications. But I had neuropathy(nerve damage) within about 3 months after having been diagnosed. My feet hurt like the devil! Now, they are numb, which I know is not good, but at least I can walk again! But my hands have it now. They don't hurt constantly like my feet did, but when I rub any part of my hands up against something or try to open a child proof cap, I can't even begin to describe how bad it can hurt. On a pain scale of 1-10, it's a 15.
My liver & spleen are enlarged. My liver is about 4 times larger than normal, which depending on when I ate, can make me look like 5 to 9 months pregnant. And it sure does cramp everything!
Let's see. My drug bill is over $600 a month, I have sleep apnea so I sleep with a CPAP machine, I have fat deposits all over my body. They look like huge red moles & I have a ton of them. Thankfully, none on my face.
My period, after having been good for about 10 years, is messed up again. I am on the last type of medicine that I can take for it. It's not working. But they don't want to do a hysterectomy because they believe it is too dangerous. Yet, my period is staying for about 10-12 days & is very heavy. Then a week later, it's back. And the medication isn't working.
But the really terrific thing is that I am happy! I have accepted my bad health, I have a happy & loving home life, I have a good relationship with everyone in my family, I have a terrific church & lots of good friends. And I have a loving God who gives me joy!
I have been trying for 2 years to make some money on the internet. Uphill struggle all the way. And God kept telling me that if I would tend to His business, He would tend to mine. I kept resisting that as I need more than just my disability check to live on. But I was finally convinced that tending to God's business was what I needed to do. So I built the website Easter Dawn & joined some Christian communities. The site has done very well, letting me know that I should have been doing this sooner!
I would really appreciate ya'll keeping me in your prayers. You are in mine.
God Bless You Richly!
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