Hello and thanks for all of your words of encouragement.
How often has someone said to us, "Everything that happens, happens for a reason." I hear these words a lot, lately. I think the sentiment is honest and is spoken to encourage us to keep our heads up. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia. I went to seven doctors, three of which were specialist, before getting this diagnosis. I remember that summer very well because it was my most painful. It was the summer I received my first written warning from my boss because my performance and quality had lowered, I had missed a lot of days from work and I had no idea what was happening to me. I will admit that I also felt sorry for my boss because she was extremely kind and did not want to reprimand me but had to do her job.
In the face of all of my pain and a new unknown diagnosis I was given the words, "Everything that happens, happens for a reason." The words came from an eighty year old woman. I met her as part of a support group suffering from my diagnosis. There were only three people listed in Nebraska and she was the only one I could reach. She had lived with trigeminal neuralgia for nearly half her life and she believed in those words and that this was happening to me for a reason. She told me not to look at it as a curse or a punishment from God. She admitted that it would slow me down a bit but that everyone she had met that had the diagnosis seemed to have a gift. She asked me what my gift was and all I could tell her was that I enjoyed writing. She told me to write and that when times got worse it would be writing that would carry me beyond the bad times into the good. If she were able to read my post, today, she would probably smile just remembering those words and that after several years I am writing.
I thought I would be writing about my characters that I have created and telling their stories. I never expected that my story would be the first one shared to anyone interested. However, "Everything that happens, happens for a reason." My diagnosis is one of the reasons I quit my job last year and moved from Omaha, Nebraska to Libby, Montana. I was experiencing some stresses with the new changes in health insurance and the weather was becoming a factor. I was getting to the point in which the pain would hit informing me that a storm was nearby, a cold breeze would caress my face and it would feel as if a frying pan hit me. I don't experience the pain up here; the storms aren't as intense and even the cold breezes seem to be kinder. I was able to lower my dosage of medication. I am able to finish college without having to deal with the pain and struggles of trying to read my assignments while experiencing an episode. It is the diagnosis that pushed me to pursue a career in writing. Living without the pain for the past year has been amazing. Trigeminal neuralgia is one of the reasons that I am able to smile in the face of such severe circumstances because my leap of faith gave me a year of remembering my life without the pain.
"Everything that happens, happens for a reason." Today, I am two weeks from being homeless. Next week I will get back into the house I rent and try to sell all of my stuff, which includes my limited edition iJoy chair. I worked a lot of overtime hours to purchase that chair and I have spent many wonderful massaging moments enjoying its comfort. The chair will be missed. I wonder what adventure will be waiting for me after the next two weeks and if life will begin to ease up. I hope so and I hope I will be able to share happier experiences with all of you who are following along with me as I experience this leg of my journey.
"Everything that happens, happens for a reason."
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