The Butterfly Will Emerge

My life turned upside down 7 months ago. Went to school in a shark costume and spent the following week in the hospital. What happened? Why? Will I live? I have 3 children and I can’t be sick. My thoughts were wild like an uncontrollable beast raging inside me from fear to sadness dragging me down. The doctors finally figured it out. My immune system was attacking my liver and trying to rid me of my good liver – I didn’t even drink – I ate well, what? really? I was diagnosed with AIH (Autoimmune Hepatitis). I remember the doctor telling me not research it on the web because it was very scary. Well, I did – 5-10 years life expectancy – what?? I started to panic again – why me? what did I do wrong? How could this happen? Luckily, I found a support group on Facebook that helped me. The 5-10 years is untreated and right now I am responding to the medicine. Every day I breathe and pray knowing that my reality could change but today it hasn’t. That leads me to this blog. Bitsy’s Backyard came out of my fight to find a new normal, a little peace of heaven being locked in my house with a chronic illness that left me immunosuppressed during Covid. Yikes – I am one of the weak that the news talks about as vulnerable to this disease. As of today, I am on slightly lower immune suppression meds and hoping for a bright future. One thing I know is that I have my wonderful family that you will meet over this adventure that saved my life and made it more meaningful than most of the 49 years that came before my diagnosis.