In 2014, Whole Food | Real Families was born of complete and utter frustration – and love from my husband. I don’t think I have ever been that honest about it before. Four years prior, my health had taken a pretty sorry turn. It was a highly stressful time for our family and I became pregnant with our second child, followed by our third child in 2013. My 3 children are the greatest gifts in my life. But two close pregnancies, in my mid and late thirties took a heavy toll on my body.
Our life is highly blessed. My husband and I are best friends and we have 3 beautiful children. We live in a nice home in the suburbs. We have a stable income thanks to my husband, who is an aerospace engineer. We have health insurance and our refrigerator is never bare. All in all, it is not a bad gig. I have been given many gifts.
Apparently my baby was ready for a nap. Lol!! #familytime #sisterlove #toddlers #naptime #Savannah
A photo posted by Cynthia (@wholefoodrealfa) on
But I struggle with extreme joint pain, muscle pain and weakness, fatigue (oh the fatigue!), and at times a memory fog that makes it difficult to remember what I was talking about from one sentence to the next. The full list of symptoms is long and distinguished. While they are not all constant (except the join pain) they are persistent. I have been diagnosed with everything. Treated for everything. And inevitably come back to the same place of dealing with symptoms day to day.
My official diagnosis – at least today – is Fibromyalgia, which is related to overactive nerves in the body that amplify pain signals. You can read more about it on the Mayo Clinic website here. I am still not sure how I feel about it. My experience has been that a Fibromyalgia diagnosis comes when the doctor runs out of tests and drugs. Not that it isn’t real. Just that if feels like the end of a road.
Early in 2014, I was sitting at our dining room table, explaining to my husband how chronic pain had made me feel robbed of joy – and I had so many reasons to be joyful. I needed something in my life that was not focused on illness. Dealing with constant pain had made me a cranky mess (that is the abridged version.) Every day was leading me to one more doctor appointment, one more test procedure, one more medication – which inevitably led to another round of side effects that complicated an already complicated health journey. My cup felt empty – but it shouldn’t have been.
My husband Jeff, who knows me better than anyone, said nothing. He just got up, went to the computer and bought the domain name I had talked about for the last year. He printed the confirmation and handed it to me still sitting at the table. As always, he knew exactly what I needed. Something positive to grow and love and build. I love to cook. I love to create recipes. I had no idea how to take a picture but loved having something new to learn. A food blog had always been a fantasy but one I would likely have never pursued without his nudge.
Why a whole food site? When we transitioned our diet to whole food, it was very much about helping me feel better. I was an avid reader of whole food sites and books and had high hopes for a miracle food cure. I was planning to be healthy, pain-free, lose some weight and write daily about how giving up processed food had saved me.
So far there are no miracles. I feel better when I eat well than I do when I eat junk and that is where I start each day. Nourishing my body with healthy food gives me more strength to take care of my children, to spend time with my husband and to work on this website that continues to grow as I learn.
It has taken a couple of years for me to be brave enough to share the details of my health journey. I felt like I needed a cure to share with you. I needed a happy ending. When I said that to my husband recently, he told me that there are people everywhere who are on a journey of their own. Maybe you don’t need a miracle. Just someone to join you on the path.
He’s smart, that guy. I should listen to him more.
Over the last few years, each time someone had read an article, cooked a recipe, or left a comment, it reinforced the constructive energy that keeps me looking forward and building something positive.
So thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
– Cynthia
A perfect day at the park. #savannah #forsythpark #daughters #mothers #letsplay
A photo posted by Cynthia (@wholefoodrealfa) on
A nice read. Thank you for sharing a part of you. It really feels comforting knowing you have someone by your side either listening to you or telling stories. Either way, it is his love and concern that make you moving forward.
As someone who also has chronic health issues…I have had multiple strokes and auto immune disease. I am always being studied.. the blog has helped me get through the day
Eileen, I am so sorry for what you are going through. While I would never wish any of it on someone else, it is comforting to know we’re not the only ones on the path. Thank you for sharing. And that you for reading. I appreciate it more than you know.
Glad that there’s something that helps a little bit. It’s always important to take care of ourselves. I know that I have been pretty lax with mine and I need to get back on my butt soon.
Sometimes it is easier to take care of everyone else than to take care of ourselves isn’t it. Thank you for reading. I am grateful.
I love the idea of singing, even when there isn’t a song there. I think just that effort will help produce one.
I could not agree more. Otherwise known as fake it till you make it! 🙂
Sharing your joy and your pain and knowing that you are not alone is so important in life.
I have a long time blog friend who has this and I’ve seen her ups and downs, so I know it’s a HUGE challenge for you. I love that your hubs is so incredibly supportive.
Your husband is a thoughtful man.
I am glad you have this outlet and now see how creative you can be.
And hope there are days when your fatigue and pains are eased.
I admire you for being so brave to share your story with us. I also admire your husband for always being there all the time. I know how hard it is having a sick person in the family, my mom has a breast cancer and it was heartbreaking seeing her suffering from the disease. God bless your family.
Its so hard to open up, but I think people respond so well to it! I wish you luck in the continuation of your journey!
Thank you for sharing about this. I never really knew much about Fibromyalgia, so it’s nice to read about your story. Sounds like you’ve got some great support too.
Kathy, you and everyone else. 🙂 Even the doctors. Is is in the early stages of being researched so there is a lot of theory and speculation about what causes it and how to treat it. I do have great support – not the least of which are you guy who stop by the blog to chat.
My mom has fibromyalgia and it can be so debilitating!
My heart is with your mom. It can be very painful and there are no good treatments. Thanks for your support.
I’m really sorry to hear of what you’re going through. It’s not easy living with illness or pain, especially when there are kids to think about. Sending you lots of positive energy.
Thank you so much! Sometimes it is tough to keep up with the kids but they are also the motivation to put my feet on the floor in the morning when I don’t want to. And that is the best treatment – keep moving!
I just love your positive outlook. You are suffering from chronic pain, yet you can still see how blessed you are. Thank you for sharing your inspiring story.
You are so sweet Courtney. I appreciate you saying that. When I am grumbling too much, I have to remind myself we never have to worry about our next meal or if our kids will have enough to eat. All in all, it hurts but is not degenerative. So though sometimes I wish it could be better – things could be MUCH much worse. 🙂