Heather's Story - Mesothelioma Awareness Day

I received an amazing email from a new friend Heather last week. She asked if I would be willing to share her story today. She writes, in part, "I am a wife, mother, and a mesothelioma survivor. When my daughter was 3 ½ months old, I was diagnosed with this rare and deadly cancer, and given 15 months to live. Despite my grim prognosis, I knew that I needed to beat the odds for my newborn daughter, Lily. It’s been 7 years now and I feel that it’s my duty to pay it forward by inspiring others."

If you would please take a moment today to visit Dying to be Heard to simply learn a little about this condition, you would be doing yourself an amazing favor while making both Heather and me Happy in the process! Thanks. :)

Invisible Illness Awareness Week

From Facebook ;)

Sorry I didn't get this posted to any of my blogs before the event, but a huge thank you to Lisa Copen of  Rest Ministries for allowing me the joy of guest hosting in her live Invisible Illness Awareness Week chat this morning on Facebook! For much of the morning, we averaged between 300-500 chat participants with one question thread bring in over 1,100 visitors! This blows me away!!! I've been praying for God to give me a bigger platform, so this is all Him and so not me!

Welcome to all new visitors due to this chat! If you are looking for my Given Me a Thorn Facebook page, please take a moment to look around here, read some history and links from the sidebar, then head to https://www.facebook.com/GivenMeaThorn. :)

From Facebook

Missed it? Don't worry, but feel free to catch each post this week by using #innvisibleillnesschat on Facebook, or going directly to https://www.facebook.com/InvisibleIllnessWeek. You can jump into any thread in the archives and still read or comment. :)

So why did I not post in advance? Let simply say I have time management issues. ;) I was busy updating my stroke description until about 20 minutes before we went live, then I still had to review all my interview questions (that I've had since last night, but didn't bother even opening until 10:40 for an 11am chat!

From Facebook

 

Did you know that one in two people suffers from some kind of hidden disability. So if it is not you, there is know doubt that a friend or family member is living with an invisible illness! I give an example of hidden disability here. Have you read The Spoon Theory yet? It may really help you understand!

Facebook

 



It was discussed on chat today, that if you want to become more public about your invisible illness, you might want to find something that is attention grabber, that invites conversation, and make it your trademark so that people will ask you about the unusual item, giving you a chance to share about your experiences. One lady says she daily wears a spoon-shaped pin so that people wonder and ask about. I wear combat boots. :) Do you have an idea to suggest of an every-day item to draw attention to or explain your illness? Please share!