introducing karen from happily ever after

Happy Monday! I'd like you to meet my friend, Karen. We are "real life" friends and I can't wait for you to meet her. She has climbed some major mountains with her heath in the last few years. We are swapping spaces today. After reading Karen's post here, head on over to her blog to read about how I'm living with lupus and give sweet Karen some lovin' while you are at it. xoxo

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Hi Katie's friends!!  I'm Karen from Happily Ever After. 

 Katie is the one I give all the credit to for starting me on blogging.  We are "real life" friends and I read her blog for quite some time before I finally decided to start my own and enter the world of blogging.  Thank you Katie!!

We met a few years ago through MOPS, the mothers of preschoolers program through Church.  I instantly loved everything about Katie.  Soon after we first met, I learned that she had lupus and at that time I was at the beginning of my health journey.  We would sit and compare many of our symptoms but I think the best part of sharing with her was her understanding.  We don't look sick.  At all!  People look at us and assume we are feeling great because we are up, dressed, laughing and enjoying our life.  Yet we know how each other is feeling on the inside.  I can't trick her, she immedietly knows how I am feeling.

Here is my story

November of 2009 my husband Anthony and I walked in the Breast Cancer 3-day.  Together we completed 60 miles in 3 days.

I had done the walk the year before with my sister and dear friends and made it through fine.  But this time, it was extremely painful.  I never quite recovered from my injuries so I went to the doctor a month later.  We started running blood test but were really coming up empty handed.  I was sent to a rheumatologist who didn't have any answers and then I was sent to a neurologist.  I consider myself very lucky that my primary care physician knew from the beginning what I had and which direction to send me.  He sent me to all the right people and was so wonderful through it all.  I eventually got the muscle biopsy that showed my muscles were dying because my nerves were dying but we didn't know why.  I was sent to another neurologist and had further testing done.  All coming back abnormal but still not sure why.  My mitochondria were to blame.  Off to another specialist for metabolic/mitochondrial diseases and more testing.  And more doctors.  Next step is an appointment with another neurologist through the MDA who is also a geneticist.  I have mitochondrial myopathy and some type of genetic disorder but right now that is all we know.  I have been on treatment {excessive amounts of supplements} but they don't seem to be working as I am continuing to progress downwards.

In a sense I feel like getting sick has woken me up.  It has brought my family closer together and made us all realize how fragile life is.  We don't take anything for granted.  We spend our days appreciating each other, sharing joy and knowing true love.  My kids know how much they are loved because I tell them about 1,943,876 times a day.

It is my fear that they will grow up without me as their mom.
I want them to know love and joy and for them to only have happiness in their lives.  I want to be there when they experience heartache but if I'm not, I want them to feel they can get through anything.

People will often ask what they can do to help and I never really know.  I can't ask someone to follow my kids around and pick up everything they drop and I can't ask someone to fix 12 snacks a day or scrub my bathtub.  But I can ask for them to pray.  That is the one thing I can ask and I feel is the biggest help I could get.

Come stop by my blog and see my happily ever after