07/23/2025
30 years ago today on July 23, 1995, at the age of 26, I became gravely ill with systemic lupus erythematosis. This picture of me and Nathan was taken a few days before that, and looking back on it, I've always thought I could see in my face (and swollen joints) how ill I was becoming. My youngest son Nathan was 5 weeks old, and my oldest son Aaron was 19 months old. I had been sick for years before this, but no doctor was able to figure out what was wrong. On that day 30 years ago, though, my immune system finally broke under the weight of a lifetime of physical and emotional burdens, and I was hospitalized that day as inflammation rapidly spread throughout my joints and organs. Soon I wasn't even able to lie down anymore due to the pain from the inflammation in the lining of my lungs and heart. I would have to sit up with my legs straight out in front of me because my knees were to swollen to bend them, and I'd have to prop pillows under my arms to try to hold my ribcage up so I could take tiny breaths without it feeling like a thousand hot knives were stabbing through my chest. Sleep was impossible because when I would fall asleep, my body would take a normal breath, and the stabbing pain would jolt me awake. Eventually, as my condition worsened, I was told there was the possibility I might not survive, either due to kidney or lung failure. After 9 months of this excruciating agony, I made one of the most important decisions of my life. I decided I would completely beat lupus and be healthier than I had ever been. My sons would not lose their mom! And I also decided that day that even though I didn't know how I was going to make that happen, I would someday help other people do what I was going to do, help them heal themselves as well. What a long and beautiful journey these past 30 years have been. Along the way I was also diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis and fibromyalgia, too. But I never gave up, and I also asked for help...a lot of help. I made a full recovery from all these illnesses, and now I have the extraordinary privilege of walking beside others in their healing journey in my holistic practice, Spirit of the Bear. I'm so grateful for my life! I love every minute of it!
Blessings and much love,
Tracey xx
P.S. The kitty is Munchie, a 25-lb bobcat hybrid. (That's life in rural Wyoming)
