I too know the struggles of living with chronic illnesses and being an entrepreneur in this new millennium age.

 

My chronic illnesses begin in my youth around 5th grade. When other kids were playing and having fun, I was always tired and in need of a nap. I suffered from panic attacks, sensitivity to bright lights and I stayed sick with anything that was floating around at the time. I use to hurt all over my body for no apparent reason, but the doctors couldn’t find any physical evidence to prove my pain, so naturally, they said I was a hypochondriac.

 

In middle school, the pain increased to unbearable amounts. Some days I couldn’t even get out of bed, I was so tired and weak. The pain inside my joints and muscles was excruciating! I experienced not only joint and muscle pain, but I couldn’t walk or move on some days; along with headaches, light sensitivity and extreme anxiety attacks. The doctors did extensive research and diagnosed me with Patellofemoral Arthralgia of both knees (a type of arthritis) and Anemia (Hemoglobin C Trait). Of course, they put me on medicines and hoped it would go away. I did as the doctors prescribed but still no relief; in fact, the pain almost tripled!

 

By high school, I was no longer able to walk on my own without braces & crutches most days. I would awaken feeling paralyzed in half of my body, along with the previous symptoms, now add blackouts, depression, memory loss and lack of concentration. I missed a lot of days from school and started abusing my pain medicine. My body had built a tolerance to the medicines so naturally, I increased the dosage over and over again just to feel a little relief. The doctors said there was nothing more they could do for me, besides adding in physical therapy. Of course, I tried that as well. On top of all this, the Anemia had become worse. My hemoglobin levels and some other levels were lower causing the doctors to diagnosed me with Hypothyroidism, which contributed to the fatigue and weakness.

 

 

I finally made it to college, where Endometriosis was added to the pot, triggering more anxiety attacks and severe stress on my body, which lead to more pain and weakness. They were no such diagnosis as fibromyalgia back then. The doctors thought my issues may have been psychological. I was sent to a therapist to heal my past of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and assault & PTSD. That did not completely work, although it did help a little. By this time the medicines that I was on since childhood started to wear on my body and some side effects were causing other issues such as G.E.R.D.S., I.B.S., Bursitis, heavy menstrual cycles and much more. Needless to say, more medicines were added and more side effects occurred. Life became pretty miserable for me. I knew that something had to change soon!

 

In my 20s I worked in a law firm, got married and had kids. The changes to my health were horrendous! Everything was completely out of whack.  After having kids my physical and mental state was completely challenged. I did everything that I could to keep a home/ work-life balance, but it just wasn’t enough time in the day to work, take care of a home, be a great parent, maintain a loving marriage and provide excellent self-care. It’s a balancing act that I wasn’t ready for.  All of the stress and strain landed me in yet another abusive relationship. After 16 attempts (7 years later), I was finally free and able to get a divorce. Becoming a single mother; let me tell you, had its own set of challenges! For someone living with chronic illnesses, "challenge" was not even the proper term to describe what was happening in my life.  I was running myself ragged trying to find treatments to cure me so I could live a “normal balanced life”.  After having my 3 boys and 2 miscarriages, my ailments eventually lead to a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia in 2005. I lost everything! I become homeless, from shelters to families’ homes and living hotels with my kids. I had to hustle hard turning my talents into cash just to make ends meet and feed my children. I always had side hustles since I was a teenager but depending solely on “side hustle” income was a whole new world!  So my “official” entrepreneur career blossomed from this great storm.

 

I managed to land more great paying jobs (that I wasn’t happy with), transitioning from shelters to an apartment, got a car and even started dating again! Just like clock work, another diagnosis! I passed out one day walking to the park and woke up in the hospital at death’s door.  The doctors said that I had an egg exploding in my fallopian tube or better known as an Ectopic pregnancy…SMDH…WTF right?! I had my tubes, tied, cut and burnt (tubal litigation) right after the delivery of my third kid so  I wouldn’t have those issues, but here we are in the 1% of the population. After the life-saving emergency surgery, they told me that the  Endometriosis was a contributing factor. They said that I had numerous cyst that required another surgery to have them removed. They did a biopsy to make sure that the cysts were not cancerous (thank God they were not!) This situation was a complete bummer! I just added it to the list of everything else. I recovered, took time to heal, educated my self on this also, then picked my life back up where I left off and kept moving forward!

 

In my 30s, I rebuilt my life the best I could. 3 simple steps help me to get back on track. Step 1: I educating myself about all of my conditions, Steps 2: I modified my daily task and habits to prevent pain or minimized flare-ups and Step 3: I organized my life.  I eventually remarried and had some help with my children, went back to "Corporate America" (part-time to make money to invest into my businesses)  and was actually living a less stressful home life (at least I thought I was). Even living a “better-balanced life”, my conditions continued to worsen STILL!

 

The Endometriosis became a real "problem child" for me. I developed a numerous amount cyst and polyps again. After 6 unsuccessful surgeries to remove them, I finally had a full (complete) hysterectomy in 2010. Then comes full blown Menopause! OMG!!! The madness seemed like it would never end. The fibromyalgia flare-ups were unimaginable, along with all the symptoms and the other illnesses. It was time for yet another change. Things were really bad. My marriage was suffering, yet again. I lost another good paying job, I never had time for my kids because I was always sleeping from the medicines or fatigued from everything else. I lost it all again and ended up getting divorced again! I felt like a complete failure. I started caring for elderly family members in exchange for shelter for me and my kids. Caring for other’s was more work than my poor little body could handle, so I started using my office and legal experience to work from home and picking up any freelance work that I could find. When you can't find work, you got to make work for yourself, and that's exactly what I did!

 

 

My last paying office job was in 2012. From the day I was laid off, I vowed to be my own boss and take control of my life. At this point, it was time to change the game plan again.  I educated myself about all the conditions that had accumulated once more. I create a plan of action to balance my life and make a living while properly caring for myself this time. 

 

I tried all kinds of work from home gimmicks, I even became a Lyft & Uber driver (L-Uber driver as I say) for a while. It was new and exciting in my city. It allowed me the time and freedom to be my own boss, create my schedule and the acquired the finances to pay my bills while investing in my business. It was perfect for me at the time. The freedom of my side hustles and being my own boss allowed me to get back on my feet again. I got a house for me and my kids, a new car, I was paying my bills on time again, finally able to start traveling again and the best part, I was able to care for myself on my own terms! There is no better feeling on this earth than self-care and love.

 

 

OrgaNization has always been my strongest trait, so I used it to create an evolving wellness plan that works for me.  I've spent the past  6 years living my "best life" and I'm still teaching others how to do the same! It feels good to help others while living out my passions and turning my dreams into my reality. 

 

If I have learned anything in my 40 years on this earth, it would be that nothing is permanent and everything can be changed for the better or worse, it's literally up to you to make the choice. Your thoughts become your reality, sow only positive seeds in your mind and your life will grow a fruitful harvest in it's own time.