The story of Carol
I have been blessed with a happy life. My story is meant as a message of hope.
As the youngest of six children growing up in Vermont, I always knew I was different. Throughout my life, I have experienced reoccurring, flares of high fevers, abdomen pain, vomiting, painful red rashes, etc.
Although it took me longer than four years, I graduated with honors from the University of Southern Maine with a B.S. When I married my husband in 1975, I inherited a fabulous family.
At the age of 64, after a lifetime of struggling with my unknown chronic and sometimes debilitating illness, I was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona with TRAPS. When I received the genetic results in April 2011, I wept. I was validated and I finally had a name to all my bizarre symptoms. There was never an answer, although I never gave up hope. I was a mystery until the Mayo Clinic.
My illness has not defined me, controlled my happiness and my life.
Some memorable experiences come to mind: spending an afternoon with Muhammad Ali at his training, camp in Pennsylvania; working at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics; 1994 attendance of the NCAA final four in San Antonio, Texas; and lastly making a cameo appearance in the filming at our home in Maine for a t.v. show.
I have traveled extensively, including Alaska, I’ve cruised the Panama Canal, walked the Great Wall in China, held a koala bear in Australia, and attended a family wedding in N.Z.
I volunteered for many years for the Refugee Resettlement Center in Portland, Maine. I discovered through volunteering that others have a very different kind of struggle. Somehow, my struggle seemed less significant then coping with a language barrier, limited employment opportunities, and adjusting to a new country and culture. I learned that perspective really does make a difference.
Although any disease can be challenging, there is a silver lining in every cloud. Find gratitude and joy in your blessings. Live life!!