The Beginning

Our fostering and fibromyalgia story began in a rough way.  It first started in 2014; I was lucky enough to marry the man of my dreams.  That year was a good one but also a very rough year.  That was the same year that we lost my mom.  Which was very rough.  I was lucky enough to have some very special moments with my mom.  We got something that some are not lucky enough to get.  Our family was able to say goodbye to her and she got to say the things she wanted to say to all of us.  She had been in pain for so many years and was now ready to be pain free.  But she also knew that it was a rough time for those that were going to lose her.  After losing my mom things started to show that I was ignoring while I was taking care of my mom.  My health started to struggle in 2015 and continue for the years ahead.  I found out that I needed to have back surgery; during that surgery it was found that I had some nerves attached to my spine that did have to be removed.  After that it was a struggle to get back on my feet and back to my normal life.  It was a very rough time because I knew that there was something wrong; but had no idea what it was.  I had doctors telling me that things will get better and it just takes time.  But unfortunately over time I started to feel worse and things were not getting any better.  I had an amazing job at Gateways to Better Living, Inc. and over the years I began to struggle with my job.  Finally in 2018, I had to make the decision to leave my job; was a tough decision; but one that I know was the right one to make.  Once I was no longer working I put all my efforts into finding out what was happening to me.  I would get shocks in my hands, arms, legs and feet as well as in my head.  I would have problems remembering things.  I use to be so proud of being able to remember things.  I still never recovered and was not able to enjoy the outdoors, my hikes had to stop, my independence became an issue.  Finally in 2020 I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Sjogren's Syndrome.  At that time I had no clue what all this diagnosis meant for my future.  But I do know that it brought me relief and I cried when I was told that the problems were not just in my head.  I had to deal with the loss of my job, my independence and a hole in my heart as to what I will do with my time.  So my husband and I talked about what our options were to find something to keep me busy and my mind off of my medical issues.  My husband and I looked into becoming foster parents.  We made a decision to start the training to become foster parents.  We finalized our training in 2022 and then officially licensed in 2022 as well.  We were lucky enough to get our very first Foster Daughter FP later in 2022.  And our amazing fostering journey began....