I Can Relate.

Hi Everyone,

            I know it’s been a while but sometimes I write blogs and I’m not happy with the final product. I try to put a lot of time and thought into my blogs. To do this, I like to set aside a time to reflect, write, and just be in the moment. (I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true) Today my entire story is going to be put out on the table. Before you continue to read, I want to you to take a moment and realize I am writing this blog today to relate to people and show them they can get through anything. Sometimes I find myself scared to share all of these stories because I don’t want people to think I’m looking for attention or sympathy.

Today’s post is going to be the base for the blog posts to follow. I’ll touch on multiple moments in my entire story, in future blog posts I will go more in depth on each one. Hopefully this makes sense! If not, it will eventually I promise! So majority of you reading this may or may not have read my previous posts on my page “Find the Beauty”. Have you ever wondered where I came up with that title? I picked this title because it connects to so many aspects of my life and can relate to anyone who may be going through something difficult in their life. Based on my previous posts, you know that I struggled with body image and an eating disorder. You may not realize that my family and myself have gone through more than my eating disorder.

At a young age, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was in preschool and yes at that time I didn’t realize what exactly was happening but now looking back it was tough on my family. I would say I missed quite a few days of preschool, as it was hard for my mom to go to chemotherapy and be back to pick me up on time. Because of this, I went with my mom to chemo. To this day, she will tell you I was her “chemo buddy”. I could tell you so much more and so many more memories I have, but I’m saving them for another post J This was the first and we were hoping the last time God would test our families strength.

When I was in 6^th grade my oldest brother and biggest role model made the decision to drink and drive. He was in a car accident involving two other people and was sent to prison for 5 years and was released in 2 1/2 because of good behavior. We can sit here and justify his decision deserved those years in prison, he knew that himself considering he plead guilty but my family still went through something I don’t wish upon any family. To watch my biggest role model be handcuffed and taken away from me was the hardest thing to watch. One thing I'll never forget was how I had the opportunity to watch my brother own up to his mistake and become a better man, friend, and brother because of it.

The following year my dad was in a farming accident where he fell 70 feet in a grain elevator due to a faulty counter weight. I will never forget that day when my aunt Heidi came to my school and told me to grab my coat and bag. I was headed to a hospital where there was no guarantee my dad was still alive. To our surprise and the entire community he did survive. Again, I could go into so much detail but I’ll save my thoughts for a follow up post!

Throughout high school and even into my college years is when I struggled with an eating disorder. At this point, I thought God was out to get me. I thought I had done something wrong because he was giving me yet another struggle.  You’ve all heard about my personal battle, how I overcame, the beauty I found in this situation but as you could probably assumed, there will always be future posts about this.

This past summer, we found out my beautiful niece, Everlee was diagnosed with Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation (CDG). You may not be familiar with CDG and that’s okay because my family wasn’t either. It’s a very rare genetic disorder and when I say rare I mean Everlee is 1 of 900 cases in the United States. Everlee is two years old and simple motor skills such as grabbing objects and handing them to people is challenging for her. She is doing fantastic with therapy and making tremendous progress. A family friend told me the other day there is no greater family that could love and support this little girl and the obstacles she’ll face everyday than mine and I couldn’t agree more. Everlee will have a different life compared to most kids but she has wonderful parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents that will beside her every step of the way. Please stay tuned for my follow up blog regarding Everlee and CDG. We would love your help in raising awareness.

My family has been given some obstacles but I truly believe God wouldn’t have given us anything we couldn’t or can’t handle. We have all been given obstacles or struggles in our lives but I’m here telling you about mine so you don’t feel alone in yours. We can all relate to each other somehow. Finding the Beauty during these hard times can be tough but if we’re all patient and look hard enough, we can find it.

            Love, JohannahMichale