As few weeks ago, I managing a fundraiser as I sought to launch my upcoming book “Where is God in Autoimmune Disease?” The book has been picked up by WestBow Press, a division of Zondervan. They have asked me to help with the costs, and so I am attempting to raise $2525.00 to cover the costs of publication.

I have had an autoimmune disease for thirty-five years. The first symptom occurred in 1988. I still remember it, excruciating esophageal spasms. Time passed, and more signs of sickness occurred. I broke out in a head-to-toe red rash. The next day it was totally gone. I had problems with my intestines. I had problems internally that required several surgeries. My GERD and IBS made travel difficult in the mountainous west, for bathrooms are few and far between. I had to resort to going in the ditch with my children looking the other way.

[A sick mother may be the inhibitor of typical family activities. For years, I had driven the kids to every practice all over town, to their out of town games, and to their in town games. I was the chauffeur. I loved my Mom job. I pressed on as long as was possible between 1984 and 2006, when we had arrived at a place where we would end up living for eighteen years. I assumed we would be there forever. I was SO tired of moving.]

We missed seeing the beautiful landscape of northern Michigan, because of my health. We missed climbing the mountains of western Wyoming. We missed many events in Scottsbluff, because of my need to stay near bathrooms and be ready to attend to my health.

Throughout the years when I was becoming very sick, we didn’t go to interesting places like we used to. We drove miles throughout the corner where Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming meet, because we had doctors in Denver for the treatment of one of our children. We had typical family doctors and pediatric doctors in Nebraska and Wyoming. But, when it came to my needs, I met with doctor after doctor who could find nothing wrong with me. I looked “fine” to them.

These findings were the push away reality that most of us with Autoimmune Diseases had to wrestle with during the past three decades. No one believed us, because we looked fine when we went out to church or to the grocery store, or to Wal-Mart. They didn’t see us when got home and collapsed. Meanwhile, all my children but one had grown up and were gone. And the one who was still around was now in college, living with roommates, and living her college experience.

Eventually I was diagnosed, because we sought an expert, Dr. Abid Khan, who is highly skilled at determining what autoimmune disease is happening and how it should be treated and the pain managed. Managing the pain! This was a welcome idea. And so, we began adding pain medications that worked. I became the guinea pig of which one to keep. 

The Lord is the potter. I am the clay.

After three decades of living with an autoimmune disease, I knew there were many others who were new to the game. The symptoms are often embarrassing. They require us to be aware of bathrooms and changing stations, of emergency rooms and where the best care occurs. We need ways to care for our health while we go on with our lives, even if we have to go in the ditch when there’s an emergency bathroom accident about to happen. This is often impossible. If we’re mothers, we have small children, mid-sized children, high school-aged children, and even kids in college. So, we are pulled in many directions, and we do our best to prioritize our children over our health, as long as it is possible.

Most of pain and sickness occurred after they had all grown up, made us proud, and had given us the greatest blessing of having the honor of being gifted by God with them, each and every one of them, all six. I was glad that the pain had waited until after they were all grown up. Thank you, Jesus!

Being a Christian and a mother was the most significant reality of my life. I loved mothering, and I am so proud of my children. After everyone was grown, I could now allow myself to be as sick as I was every day. Soaking in hot water in the tub, going to physical therapy, carrying out that physical therapy at home. And yet, finding nothing that helped with the excruciating pain. 

Because I have lived through this, spanning thirty-five years and all the while being attacked by whatever was happening in our body, I was glad when pain relief was determined and subscribed.

Click the following link below. It will take you to my GoFundMe page. Copy and paste if it doesn’t work immediately. There you can read about my book “Where is God in Autoimmune Disease?” Make any sort of donation that you’re able, big or small, so that I can pay the necessary $2525.00 to the publisher. I’m asking my readers to help me to get this book out into the wider world by donating whatever they’re able.

Click this link: https://gofund.me/41f6681c

Or Click this one: https://www.gofundme.com/where-is-god-in-autoimmune-disease?

Copy and paste it into an open page on Facebook, if the click doesn’t work from here.

Please donate when the above gofund.me link goes active. I can use all the donations I can get now.

Thank you for reading my blogs over all of these years. And thank you for clicking those links to send out more information about my book: “Where is God in Autoimmune Disease?”

God bless you and yours,

Melinda