Having a chronic illness puts a lot of negative and selfish thoughts into your mind. I often think, "why me?" or even more often than that - "life is so unfair!". Even when you know that those with the seemingly perfect lives, who have everything "good" happen to them, still have problems that they face too, it's difficult not to focus on the fact that you're lumped into the category of people who seemed to get knocked down in life, time and time again.
Nothing has been easy about this journey. I've spoken many times about how Lyme has taken its toll on me physically, mentally and financially. And it's a never-ending domino effect. Stress from financial woes makes me more sick, and the more sick I am, the more doctor visits and pills I have to pay for. But for the first time in a while, I feel some of that burden lifted off my shoulders.
Earlier this year I decided to book an appointment with a doctor, who's treatments are very expensive. The only way we were going to be able to afford the visit, is with some kind of help. So I reached out to people I know through an online fundraising platform.
I've always known that I have a lot of support from my family and friends, but I had no idea how many people were behind me in all of this. In the first day alone, people collectively donated over $2,000! I was floored. Friends from my past and present, and even people I've never met, or only met once, graciously gave their hard earned money to help me fight this fight. In 3 months, $5,850 was given by 55 generous souls. Many of you donated anonymously, so although I will never know who you are, please know how incredibly grateful I am!
And it wasn't just financial support I was receiving - emails, notes, facebook posts - so many people encouraging me, letting me know they are thinking of me, praying for me, and wanting me to get better. The emotional support has been just as overwhelming, and honestly just as helpful, as the monetary support.
Several months ago, a little while after I had started the fundraiser, my husband and I were visiting my hometown and my mom told me about a supplemental fundraising idea she had. She wanted to help us raise money by using her God-given talent of baking to sell cupcakes to the community. (Also, my 7 year old niece wanted to join in with a "Lyme"ade stand - how cute is that?!) I was excited about the idea, but also hesitant, because my parents have already done so much for me, and I knew how much hard work it would be for my mom. But she was insistent!
It turns out even she didn't know how quickly this idea would take off! With only a 5 day window of ordering, she fulfilled orders for 1185 cupcakes! Keep in mind she did the baking, filling, frosting and delivering all on her own, in the comfort of her own little kitchen - no commercial appliances or helpers! And in that short amount of time, she raised $3,790! What a blessing! Here are the flavors she offered, just to make you drool a little, and also to see how much work she put in (with no minimum orders for flavors - holy cow!!):
1. Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie with Butter pecan icing
2. S'mores (Chocolate cupcake filled with more choc., graham cracker crust, topped with toasted marshmallows)
3. Toffee Salted Caramel Crunch (Chocolate cupcake filled with salted caramel, topped with choc. then salted caramel icing and toffee bits)
4. Toasted coconut filled with key lime
5. LemonBar lemon (lemon cupcake with lemon bar square inside & light lemon icing)
6. Pumpkin filled with chai cheesecake & Chai cream cheese icing)
7. Peanutbutter Cup (Chocolate cupcakewith reeses inside & iced with peanut butter icing)
8. Strawberry Shortcake (mock angel cc filled with fresh strawberries & whipped icing
My mom with some of her cupcake batches and pics from some of her Spokane deliveries.
My mom learned that there were quite a few disappointed folks who didn't get in on the cupcake frenzy, and we think she could have ended up selling MUCH more if it had been opened to more people and the ordering timeframe had been longer. (In fact, she had many urge her to start up a business in town!) As it was, she was up super late, night after night, week after week, to fulfill her orders - and I am so proud of her and grateful beyond words for all the time and effort she put in to helping Leigh and I!
And I'm also super thankful for all those in the community and beyond, that chipped in to help. I pretty much convinced myself that people were mostly in it for the dessert - because everyone knows my mom's baking is phenomenal.
But I was so blessed to hear how many people passed along well-wishes through my mom, hoping that my treatment helps, asking about me and about Lyme disease. She told me about people who read my blog, who think about me and pray for me. It's so encouraging to know that there are so many out there who are behind me, that I had no clue about! She also had quite a few people give, without getting cupcakes.
These last 2 weeks have been especially hard as I've been at one of my sickest points of the entire year. But my treatment is coming up next week finally, and I have everyone who helped with these fundraisers to thank in getting to this point - because without you, it wouldn't have happened. Leigh and I have been blown away by the continued support and are so grateful for each person who has helped in some way. My sickness may get me down most days, but I still feel blessed beyond measure for the people that have been placed in our lives.
To anyone who is reading this and know what I mean when I say how lonely this disease, or any chronic illness, can make you feel, I encourage you to reach out. There are probably way more people than you know who think about you and are behind you to get better.
And to those of you who are those supporters, please remember how important it is for people like us to know we have that support. I know for me, it brightens my day when friends reach out to tell me they are thinking of me. And to hear how many more people there are (some that I don't even know) that are behind my efforts to get better, has really lifted my spirits.
A lot of you have been asking when my treatment starts. We are leaving town next Tuesday to make our way over to Coeur d'Alene and my first visit is Thursay, October 15th. I don't know what to expect with my treatment as every patient reacts differently, but it's very possible I will be down for the count for quite a while. (You must get worse to get better kind of thing). However I hope to get some updates in while we are there, so stay tuned.
Thank you again to everyone that have pitched in these last few months - both financially and emotionally - to get me to where I am today. It means the world to my husband and I! And a special shout-out to my mom for being a baking fiend on our behalf! We are forever grateful and amazed by the support and love from everyone in our lives!
