Life's a Party. Rock your Body. : August: Gastroparesis Awareness Month

Hey y'all! I know it has been a while since I blogged but I'm back! Nothing super exciting has happened in the last few months concerning my health, which is a very good thing! I have been off social media for the last couple of months because I was a Recruitment Counselor (AKA Gamma Chi) for Recruitment (Rush) at LSU. But again, I'm back!
I wanted to dedicate this post to Gastroparesis Awareness because August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month (especially since it is the last day of August). That sentence was redundant, I know, I'm sorry. I feel like I have told my story many times so I am going to tell it a little different this time. Gastroparesis basically took my life from me during my sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school. I did my best to make it to volleyball practices, club meetings, friends' birthday parties, but some days I didn't want to get off the couch or out of my bed. This seems horrible and at that time in my life it was. Today, years later, I realize how lucky I was back then. I was still able to eat, I went to school, I had family, friends, doctors, and teachers there with me every step of the way. Gastroparesis is a disease that can literally take someone's life. There are people suffering from gastroparesis who are in the hospital almost every day, who have pace makers and feeding tubes. And they still are not improving. They are still suffering from a disease that so many people have never heard of. I am so lucky to have found a treatment that works for my gastroparesis. My pacemaker and a couple of medications make my gastroparesis manageable. I have my life back but my fight still continues. Today and everyday I fight not only for my life but I fight for those whose fight has been taken away by gastroparesis.
This debilitating disease has no cure and most people diagnosed never know the cause (myself included). Please read the picture below to learn the signs and symptoms of gastroparesis.