“I couldn’t move nor feel the entire left side of my face. I chewed a hole on the inside of my cheek due to no feeling. Looking at my mom and sisters’ faces filled with tears, I knew it wasn’t good.”
‘Numbness consumed my whole left side. ‘You’re tying your boots too tight.’ The next thing I knew, I collapsed.’: Navy Ordinanceman battles MS during leave, ‘Be the person you need to be’
‘You don’t look good.’ I woke up on the floor, inches away from a brain bleed. No one came for me.’: Teen diagnosed with POTS and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, ‘My story isn’t over yet’
“I was losing weight and missing school a few days a week. I was in bed all week but when Friday rolled around, I insisted on going to the St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast. I barely remember the morning. We went on stage and just as the piano started, everything went black.”
‘You’re sitting at the computer too often.’ He prescribed a painkiller. Then, I got a call. ’You could die.’: Woman with tethered spinal cord learns to walk again, ‘My scars are badges of honor’
“I woke from surgery unable to feel my leg and in septic shock.”
‘At 11-years-old, I coded on the table. ‘You’re on your second soul.’: Chronic pain warrior with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome suffers stroke, finds community, ‘It’s about being there for each other’
“My first stroke was at 11 weeks old. By the time I was 4, I had three open-heart surgeries. Once, I made a list of things I have tried over the years for my pain. It was three pages long. You name it, I’ve probably had it.”
‘You’ll end up alone.’ I was called Miss Piggy and took 26 pills a day. The pain was suffocating.’: Woman diagnosed with Fibromyalgia overcomes eating disorder, suicide attempt
“I woke up one day in agony, unable to move properly and bed-bound. The constant pain was so overwhelming I felt like I couldn’t live anymore. I hated what I’d done to my body. It was time for a change.”
‘A boy asked about my scooter. ‘That’s what rich people ride when they’re lazy.’ I was mortified.’: Woman with Multiple Sclerosis overcomes negativity, ‘All I can do is keep looking forward’
“My teeth crumbled out of my mouth because of my weakened immune system and stress. I cried day and night. People told me yoga, exercise, Paleo diets, or meditation would magically cure me. Thanks Karen, but I don’t think your snake oil is going to cure this bad boy!”
‘Miranda, stop it. You can’t be in that much pain. You’re being a killjoy. Knock it off.’ I was popping Advil. I lost all feeling in my leg.’: Teen battles Ewing’s Sarcoma after being written off, ‘I am a survivor, not a statistic’
“I was 15 and no one took me seriously. One day, the neurologist came back in and said, ‘Miranda, there’s no easy way to say this. We found something in your spine.’ Panic. Blackness. I nearly passed out. I was treated without any consent, which still haunts me to this day. I was hallucinating for 36 hours straight.”
‘I kept getting multiple UTIs. A male doctor asked, ‘Do you think the pain might be ALL IN YOUR HEAD?’ I felt mortified.’: Woman with chronic urinary tract infections urges ‘you are not alone’
“I’d receive a 3-day course of antibiotics and be sent on my way. It would clear up, but come back with vengeance. I was told it was ‘just because I was WITH my boyfriend.’ Fair enough, sex can be a cause, but what did other people do? Stay single for the rest of their life? I was at a loss. All the doctors suggested I was exaggerating.”
‘I was choking on my own saliva. I thought my life was over. Alex was laying on my face crying and I could feel his tears running down my face.’: Autism mom with lupus describes difficult journey, ‘The thought of not being with him haunts me’
“One by one, I will lose all ability to speak and move. I will lose mobility at an age that is way too young. It will take away from the joy I share with Alex, which is already limited and unfair. In the worst part of my life when I was physically sick and could barely walk, I was given the greatest gift of my life.”
‘We’re letting you go.’ I was too sick to work. They bullied me for months and couldn’t handle my illness.’: Woman fights for mystery illness diagnosis, ‘I am chronically strong’
“I was afraid the doctor would put me in the nuthouse if I told her everything. How many 32-year olds have a full page of symptoms? I quickly lost 20 pounds.”
