Did you have to take a nap after reading that title? Yeah, tell me about it!
Life is full of events that shape us, and the past 5 years have certainly done some significant shaping. I now find myself in a reality that I would have never imagined for myself, but I couldn’t hope for anything different. Well, maybe a few things different, but, man, I am loving the direction life is leading me. I decided to share my story, in hopes that it would inspire and encourage someone else who may be facing some of the same challenges. If I can do it, so can you!
Here is a little snippet of my story.
Almost 5 years ago my son, who just turned 11 years old, was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. Holy heck was that a tough time for us. A pretty scary time, too. I spent many nights in tears, feeling helpless…not knowing how to help my little man feel better. For 5 years we fought and lost against Crohn’s with many hospital stays, different medications failed, different diets, a lot of missed school, and sleepless nights until finally, he received a second diagnosis from a new GI (gastroenterology) specialist, Ulcerative Colitis. He was suffering from both UC and Crohn’s and even though I was pretty devastated to hear the news, I was also grateful that maybe we would now be able to treat him. It took several GI doctors, a new diet, and new medications, but now, for the first time since he was 6 years old, he is feeling better. He is no longer on steroids and we don’t have to stop every 20 minutes for a bathroom or have blood & iron transfusions! IBD, Irritable Bowel Disease, is a horrible incurable debilitating autoimmune disease, and it certainly does not get the attention it deserves. I have spent the past 5 years researching as much as I could about Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and autoimmune disease as a whole, and I am still blown away with just how much I didn’t know and how many people it affects. Did you know that it is 70% environmental? Our very environment is toxic to us in so many ways.
The Struggle is Real
Being a single parent of a little man who suffers from a disability was pretty tough, especially with an 8-5 job, so I ended up having to quit my job as a dental assistant to take care of my kiddo. That was a tough time to be sure. He was so ill and I didn’t have a lot of options, so those were some pretty lean times financially. I needed a career that allowed me flexibility and the real estate world presented itself to me, so I jumped at the opportunity. It certainly was not a quick or easy career change, but with a lot of hard work and some time peddling my wears, I was able to build some business. The bills were getting paid, so that was good. 🙂 Real Estate has been a journey for me that is for sure. I love helping people, the negotiating, the contracts, and the real property, but the dynamic in my area is a little gritty. I have had to learn to put on armor to survive in this industry, and that was tough. I am a heart on my sleeve, give you all of myself and offer unfiltered honestly kind of person, so I admittedly got a little discouraged even in the midst of some success. It was a time to really introspect and re-ground myself. I didn’t enjoy the beating I took the first years of my real estate career, but I am grateful for what it showed me about myself and how it aided in reprioritizing my life, learning boundaries, and levels of investment into things and relationships.
Educational Changes
Sam, my son, had missed so much school from sick days and hospitalizations that he had some significant gaps in his education so school was a huge stress. I was spending hours every evening trying to catch him up and help him get his homework done. The medication he is on for his IBD lowers his body’s immunity systemically, so he is highly susceptible to viruses and is considered immune compromised. Every little virus that came through school, Sam got it. Plus, Sam was so stressed with his education and his attendance that he was starting to have anxiety attacks. Stress is one of my little guy’s main triggers for his disease, so with the levels of stress and the germs floating around, School was actually making him sick. I had to do something…
Just like having to quit my job when he started getting sick, I knew I had no choice…I needed to change his educational environment…I had to homeschool him. I was terrified that I would fail him and that I wouldn’t be able to be successful in my career if I was homeschooling or that people would doubt my dedication to them as clients or doubt my dedication to the education of my son, but I couldn’t let fear keep me from doing what I knew would be best for him.
January 5th, 2018, after a great deal of research, I pulled my son out of 5th grade and started homeschooling. It has been an adventure and I am learning every day, but we are doing it! He loves it, and you know what? So do I! He is thriving and is doing better than he has in years emotionally and academically.
Crohn’s Diet & Inspiration
Diet change, this has been a huge transition for us. I have looked into so many different things for the both of us. Sam needs a very specific diet to keep him healthy and I have struggled with my weight ever since having him in 2007. So we are a gluten-free household and pretty much eat a version of paleo. I follow a Whole30/Paleo diet, and my son just eats clean, organic, gluten-free foods. I have become a label reader and steer clear of processed foods, artificial colors & flavors, nitrates, monosodium glutamate to name only a few. We are starting to live more of a homesteading style of lifestyle, and we just bought our garden starts and seeds. Can’t wait until spring!
Be brave, be courageous. Do not underestimate or limit yourself. Love big and without condition. Do not be afraid to try to something new or take a new path in life. Some paths are paved and some have to be made, but regardless of the journey…you can’t get there unless you take the first step!