Stewart's Fibro-Warrior Support Page

Our Mission

Bettie’s journey: I can’t remember when the symptoms of Fibromyalgia and chronic fatiuge begain. I do have memories of regular visits to Iowa city university hospital for regular thyroid test.

Birth complications: According to my parents even though I was born around the expected due date I had developmental delays, my thyroid wasnt developed and my lungs were not fullly developed. So shortly after birth my test begain. The tests were traumatic and frustrating because the levels of thyroid I took still left me fatiuge and made it difficult for me to funtion as well as my peers. dispite all that I was determined to work hard to prove my abilities. My family had a modest income but most of the test were out of budget and I was uninsurable. My parents were resourceful and kept me on a healthy diet my whole life. I’m blessed to have grown up in A christian, loving & caring enviroment family. Naturally family was protective even though I still experienced other traumaic events happened that was out of my families control. I had a oder brother that also experienced symptoms of fibro and fatiuge however I consumed most of my partents time and energy, so my brother toughed it out and became part of my support team. when I was arpound 12 my mother started experiencing symptoms of hypothyroidism later she was dignosed with fibromyalgia so from that time forward fibromyalgia was a regular word in my home. Mom and I had a close bond so I begain to watch her experience symptoms with fibromyalgia this created in me empathy and I learned with her how to live successfully with fibromyalgia. I had a low immune system and chronicly experienced chronic strep and upper respitory infections. eventually the strep became scarlet fever. After I healed from scarlet fever I begain to experienced chronic pain fatigue, sleep disturbances and bouts of depression, this would affect my school attendence then later in life employment. I begain to visit a chriorpractor and learned allot about alternitive medicine and therapy. My life changed in 1994 I was in my preteens I started middle school. There I met my future husband of coures he was off limits because I was a ministers daughter and dating boys was not the reason I went to school, I was there to learn! we were instantly attracted to eachother. due to all the attendence issues and the attention of boys. my parents decided to home school me. I began babysitting regulaly in my teenage years this started my care career. It got me out of the house and gave me something to do. Caregiving became natural to me. my parents divorced in 2000 shortly before their divorce I became severly ill with a staff infection in my throat. it took over a month to recover but the depression that followed has stayed with me my whole life. After that I never stayed in the same place very long i had my car I loved to travel and I stayed with family and friends I even tried to rent my own place. In 2000 I went and watched my peers and friends graduate. At that event I reunited with my future husband. we loosely kept intouch developed a close friendship and danced around the idea being closer than friends but I was jadded from my parents divorce and in a committed I was afraid relationships. because I didn’t ever want to go through a divorce. When terell and I would get together we would be together for days then I wouldnt see him I’m for months. then we would be in other relationships so the timeing was never really right. I started taking my religion seriously and started college to become a interpreter for the deaf community and Joined the signlanguage ministry program. we grew apart. In 2005 Terell had 2 kids and got married so I moved on with my life. I met my first husband in new jersey at a convention for the deaf ministry. it was not love at first site but we became friends and talked allot over the phone. I remeber my ex telling me that he begain looking forward to my phone calls and he wanted to up grade our rleationship to dating the dating led to him asking me to marry him then I moved to Michigan while in michigan We assisted in establishing a Signlanguage congregation. I trained as a cna and then eventually started working for my favorite job. I was a direct care worker for acompany that served the deaf community. Durring this time I was dignosed with fibromyalgia my symptoms deterioated to the point that i could barely funtion. my husband started spending more and more time in the office later I learned that he was having an affair and we divorced. after the divorce I lived out of my car bouncing around friends and family that helped me care for me durriing this time my fibromyalgia was intense. I didnt waste time i enrolled in college and worked towards my dream of becoming a interpreter but because of my symptoms i was majorly limited on the ammount of class work i could do. 2011. terell divorced and we reunited again this time i didnt want him to slip through my fingers another time so the friendship became romantic. we married in 2012 and started our married life with in a month of being married we became pregnant with our daughter Olivia due to fibromylgia/cfs my pregnacy was very unpleasent.. after having olivia I struggled with major bouts of depression because of my limits bringing down my self esteem. it was also difficult adjusting to the new role as parent and coparent to my step children. Terells grandmother passed away and he began to express symptoms of fibromyalgia in 2014 Terell was offically dignosed with fibromyalgia. i always say I would never wish this condtion on my worse enemy, but instead I get to watch my huband slowly submit to it. so I got proactive I zeroed in on mental health and went to NAMI and eventually becam a mentor then I move on to attending peer support specialist training and became a peer support specialist. I mad e goals to start my own practice as peer support specialist. then recently I came incontact with Tammy and Dave that employeed me in Michigan. the introduced me to melaleuca, I fell in love with the missionstatement. it was finally where all of my dream goals manifested in to the prefect job that suits my life and mwhat I’m passionate about.