I grew up in the Bay Area in California, but have lived most of my adult life in Utah.  I've been married for nearly 37 years to Don.  We have two grown, married children and four grand children.  Our most recent addition was our Daughter's third child, a girl born December 18th who will face challenges as she was born with bicoronal craniosynsistosis.  She is scheduled for her first surgery in May.  The plan is to push her forehead forward, open the plates that are fused and put in disolveable plates.  We don't know yet if this is a genetic syndrome or a sporadic occurrence.  That little family lives in Butte, MT.  Our son lives with his wife and year old daughter in Seattle.

I have had numerous health challenges including life long pain and coordination issues, fibromyalgia, was misdiagnosed for many years and then determined to have multiple sclerosis in 1995, have had migraines since a teenager, and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999.

I am adopted so don't have complete medical history, but was very pleased to meet my birth parents quite a few years ago.  My birth father is still alive, but we don't have much contact.  It must be difficult when a child comes unexpectedly back into the lives of those who did not plan on that baby.  My adoptive mother is still living alone in her home at age 95.  My adoptive father died over 20 years ago.  I was raised with two brothers, also adopted, who still live in California.

I have spent most of my life in various volunteer endeavors and did work for a time as well.  I had to give that up when the ms got too much in the way, especially as it relates to cognitive struggles.

My husband is an aerospace engineer who has had several health struggles as well.  He has asthma and has had many kidney stones.  He had back surgery to address a ruptured disk several years ago and is facing more such surgery to repair another ruptured disk and another disk that has totally flattened.  Since these are adjacent to one another there is talk of fusing the one and replacing the other with an artificial disk.  However, he may not qualify with insurance to have those two things done at the same time.  So, he might be looking at one repair and waiting until he can't stand the pain any longer to have the second procedure.  

It seems there are always challenges.  My husband works out at the gym and rides his bike when he can if his back allows.  I walk on a treadmill and do some other exercises at home to try to keep myself as strong as I can.  Pain and other issues keep be from doing all I used to be able to do.  I used to enjoy tennis and running.  I've had many surgeries to repair knee, shoulder, spent a year in a back brace and just generally have not been as tough and durable as I had once hoped.  I enjoy needlework, church involvement, volunteer work and spending time with my family.