About me…
Pain or Possibility … it’s up to you!
My blog to me, is like ripping parts of my soul out and pressing it onto paper for you to read. At first it hurt. It left me raw and exposed to the world. You know I have issues. You know I’m not perfect. You know I’m a hot mess at times. And … it’s o.k. Nothing fell apart. I didn’t die from this experience. In fact, I think it made me stronger – Aimee
Why ‘The Burned Hand’?
When I was 3 years old, I was helping my mom “cook”. I went over to the stove and reached my hand right up on top of the red-hot burner. As I was screaming, she said stick your hand out the window, as we raced in the car to the doctor’s office. It was raining, and her hope was that would cool my hand down. I don’t remember much about it other than the burns were bad, but my hand healed.
Twenty years later, my hand was burning yet again. This time, for a different reason. You see I had learned my lesson back then…to stay away from cooking, but at 23 years old I developed horrible, painful blisters all over my hands. When the blisters popped, the liquid felt like acid. The skin would literally ache and pull tight and itch like fire after that. It was actually worse than burning my hand once…because this continued to happen over and over until I was diagnosed with Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (you can look it up in the search button on my blog) or click that link to take you to my first post about it.
I had pints of my blood taken for years as there is no cure…then they realized I had hereditary hemochromatosis…
Would it ever end?
I had two beautiful girls and a loving husband, but apparently, there would be more tests to find out what I was made of. I was experiencing horrible stomach pains, bloating, and weight gain over 25 pounds in one year…on my tiny 5’2 frame. It was not okay, and I knew that no matter what doctor was saying at the time, that HE was wrong. After 18 years of seeing specialists, I knew what my body was doing. It was warning me yet again that another war was going on. This time it was autoimmune…Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
Around this time, I could feel my spine literally come alive. Every single point in my vertebral column was on fire all the time. I was told later that it was probably the Epstein-Barr virus coming to life…just in time to flare Fibro-freaking-myalgia. That’s what it should be called. The truth is, I have another F word for it, but I’m going to be nice-ish.
That leads us to where I left teaching…after a few years of pain that could no longer be managed in the classroom with the demands of a stressful teaching job. And to what I hoped would be a new career writing. No one bothered to tell me how hard it was to simply “become” a best-selling writer…when you don’t actually send anything in to people.
And now …
I healed my gut through a series of steps I researched all on my own. I lost the weight. Realized most doctors treat the symptoms not the “disease” and never explore what more we could do. It was get on this prescription…which would in turn make me worse, so I said no. It was beat depression…without meds…but if you need them, I am not judging. I personally couldn’t take them due to the amount of damage one doctor thought would happen due to all the other “invisible illnesses” I had. There were no outward signs, but hey, my liver could possibly have problems if I took pills I didn’t need. I started Vitalize You Wellness, << and made it my goal to find a way to live without food attacking my gut…ok so my body thought it was invading. I now connect with people through my coaching programs to coach them to “wellness” and encourage them to believe that anything is possible. Even coming back from a place of pain.
My most important message now though is to let others like me know that it doesn’t have to take you years of research like me. Head|Heart|Health Club is a self-paced online journey that is like a magazine for your soul, and you are welcome to read more on the link. If your story sounds anything like mine or you just want guidance on where to go, what to do, and have no clue where to even begin, check out my personal coaching online journey. If I can change my life, I believe you can too. New Journaling E-books are available here: ONLINE catalog <<<
“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ~Sylvia Plath
You have a awesome looking blog…I love the colors…I am subbing to see how awesome of a writer you are. You seem quite interesting. 😉 Nice to meet ya.
Richardo
Thank you very much! I write in a very “eclectic” style and rarely go back and edit what I type. I started writing in high school, but never showed anyone…ha. So the blog is just putting it all out there:)
Many thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a ‘Like’. 🙂
Not only did I like what you had to say about the “awards”, but I provided a link back to your post in my latest post:)
Hi, how are you?
Good news, we are giving you the “BEST MOMENT AWARD“. Congratulations and enjoy the rest of the day!
Hi, I found your blog completely by accident as I was researching hemochromatosis of which I share with you. I started reading your everyday blog and quotes and really enjoyed them. You are a really good writer and seem to have life’s ups and downs pretty well coined. I hope you don’t mind, I copied your Mother Teresa quote to my FB. Keep up the good work!
Not a problem! Thanks:) I also have started making my own quotes on Pinterest. Enjoy them!
Hi Aimee,
It is very nice to meet you. I ran across your blog through Facebook and couldn’t stop reading. I am trying to overcome some physical and mental obstacles in order to dive into becoming an author, something I have always waned to be. I think your blog may have a little of the medicine that I need to help me get over my fear of failure. As an adult (48), I can say that each failure is a stepping stone towards success, and I can almost believe it. As a child who grew up in a dysfunctional, alcoholic home, I was taught that failure was bad, wrong and unacceptable, not a ntural part of the path to success. So, as I jump off thr high-dive board into this business of writing, I plan on keeping your blog nearby, for a little bit of encouragement and blessed truth.
Thank You,
Jim Sullivan
Thank you so much Jim. I over share now maybe because I got tired of all the “normal” people who hide what really happens in life. Life is about trial and error. As you can see I have many trials, but we all have our battles. Keep going, and believe you can succeed! Write something everyday. 🙂
Thanks for following my blog!
Tremendous work with the quotes, Aimee! Of course I’m heavily biased towards the works and author you cite, and towards the easing of suffering, but you still pick your passages extremely well. If I might ask, where is the pain teacher citation from? Oh, and thanks for following my poor fare – Greg
Tolkien brings lots of his background into the LoTR and education through experience is a theme. Gandalf instructs Pippin in a longer passage that actually reads You knew you were behaving wrongly and foolishly; and you told yourself so, though you did not listen. He goes on to tell him On the contrary! No, the burned hand teaches best. After that, advice about fire goes to the heart. Thank you for commenting!
I agree about Tolkien’s background; it adds much to the credibility of the cultures he describes. You’re welcome! – Greg
You are so strong!! Fantastic blog seriously I’m glad that I’m here. I’ll continue to be part of it everyday. Thank you for letting me.
Thank you so much Nikki!