Blog announcementsRABK updatesRandom Acts Of Blogging KindnessRandom Acts of Blogging Kindness recipients
Random Acts of Blogging Kindness: Recipient #2
I am so excited to announce our second RABK recipient! Thank you to those who donated and helped share about it, I sent through the funds two weeks ago now and our recipient is off to enjoy some time at a day spa with their chosen guest. Awesome, right?
Our recipient is Jen Turner, a young woman who lives with fibromyalgia and lupus. I came across her blog nearly a year ago now and decided to send her an email to see how we could help bless her during an extremely difficult time.
My name is Jen Turner and I live with severe fibromyalgia and lupus. I am currently 22 and am working on a degree in sociology part-time. I would like to become a patient advocate or a social worker so I can use my experiences to help others. I was diagnosed with severe (adult) fibromyalgia around 15 years old, but I have most likely had it since I was 12 or younger. It never truly sunk in until my doctor filled out a form and marked that I was permanently disabled right before I turned 17. I barely graduated high school due to absences, but I moved on to college. I had to drop out after my junior year due to my health problems... I was getting sicker and sicker and we had no idea why. In July 2011 I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, or just lupus. We are still learning how bad it is and trying to find the right medication combination.
My family consists of my mom, dad, and two younger sisters. My 95 year old grandfather lived with us up until a few months ago, when he had to move to an assisted living facility. My mom was diagnosed with stage 3A breast cancer in March 2008. She went into remission after a lumpectomy and the removal of several lymph nodes, chemotherapy, and radiation. She was healthy for a while (I can't remember how long), but then the cancer came back. It is now in her liver, bones, and brain. The doctor is optimistic. They were able to remove the tumors from her brain with radiation therapy, but it is as though she suffered a stroke. She spent about a month and a half-ish in the hospital and a rehabilitation nursing home. She is doing so much better now! We both go to physical therapy together and are working together to become stronger and healthier.
I cannot thank you all enough for your kindness. When Emily emailed me originally, I sat there re-reading the email over and over again, crying. These past several years have been so hard, but this past year has been the roughest. Between my diagnosis and my mother's cancer, plus everything else that has happened, I cannot begin to state how depressed I have been. This means so much to me. I truly do not know what I would do without all of the spoonies on Twitter and all of the health websites! I am planning on taking my mom with me to the spa day so we can relax together and bond more. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
With all of my love,
Jen Turner
**** If you would like to know more about Random Acts of Blogging Kindness, see the RABK page and join me on twitter or facebook for updates. I hope to bless another recipient around June/July 2012, or even earlier depending on donations.
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