Written by: Cathy Shuba
Hi everyone, how has everyone been? I have not written in my blog for over a month…WOW! Has anyone wondered where I have been, what I have been doing and if I was still sober? Probably not and then again probably so. I am still sober, I have been busy and been engaging in other avenues in my life that has preoccupied my time and energy. I hope all of you are doing well, still striving to be the best you can be and hope that your life has had some good changes in order to better you.
A couple weeks ago, The Watershed of Delray, Florida did a review of my book and I want to thank them for doing so. Here is the link if you would like to read what they thought of my book and what it does in order to help another struggling with an addiction… https://www.thewatershed.com/blog/sobriety-fitness-drunk-to-sober-cathy-shuba/ After reading the review Ashling of the Watershed wrote about my book I told her I would talk about it in my blog and add the link so others could read it as well. However, it has taken me awhile to write about it. It is not that I did not want to do it but been distracted with other personal things going on in my life. I knew it was going to be awhile until I would write about the review so I thought it was only fair to let Ashling of the Watershed know about has been going on with me. As I wrote to her and expressed my challenges, sadness and lack of focus…she replied with love, kindness, compassion and mostly understanding. Her words to me was to share with others what has been going on…so here it goes. I had mentioned about 6 months ago my daughter was struggling with having been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and the challenges, changes and difficulties she was facing with it not to mention there are not many doctors who can help her or understand it…period! Frustration, depression and helplessness set in for me…as you see I have not been writing much in my blog or been posting much on social media. I bet you are thinking I was struggling with… Isolation? Depression? Helplessness? No, I felt those things and believe me I can still feel those things but I have not struggled with them because I do believe that God never gives you anything you cannot handle! My Faith stomps struggles! I will explain the challenges…
The challenges begin with seeing,… not denying the progression of this syndrome and how it changed my daughter’s freedom to walk, run, jump and do all athletic things a child would want or loves to do. My daughter at one time competitively dived and was on a diving team. She loves to dive but no longer can do the sport because of the pain and crippling experiences she endured on a daily basis. I would have never thought this would have happened this way…neither did my daughter. My daughter who is athletic, loves sports has been told she cannot play any contact sports because of risk of severe injury. I would have never thought this would have happened this way…neither did my daughter. My daughter who see others her age walk and run with no struggles or limitations has now just received her wheelchair this past Thursday, because she cannot walk long distances. I would have never thought this would have happened this way…neither did my daughter. When going to the BMV this past Wednesday, one would assume you are there for a driver license renewal or auto tag registration, etc… but not a handicap place-card for your 10 year old daughter,…I cried driving home from the BMV. I would have never thought this would have happened this way…neither did my daughter. I once was able to take long walks with her with no problem, but now we rely on her wheelchair in order to do so. I would have never thought this would have happened this way…neither did my daughter. Going to the store with her is a struggle because she can only walk so long then needs to sit. I would have never thought this would happened this way…neither did my daughter. I have shed tears with my mom and people close to me who want to understand, care and just listen. I have stayed sober through all of this and know that my sobriety is what makes me get up every morning and see another day,…not deny it! I have still helped others, reached out to help others in order to get out of me when things became overwhelming, sad or frustrating. I continued to run everyday and thank God regardless of the challenges my daughter will yet encounter as she grows older. I firmly believe that others have it worse than my daughter and that I should still count my blessings everyday for me, my daughter and family.
As the days went by and the struggles in finding a pain management doctor to treat, help and mostly understand her pain from this connective tissue disorder became daunting, discouraging and down right aggravating. I took a breath went running, talked to God and let go. Saying all of this,… the day came when I said to myself, God’s will not mine show us the way in order to help my daughter with her pain…the answer came…his name is Doctor Michael Joseph and has a pain management clinic in Columbus, Ohio. Do we have to drive far to see him,…yes! But it is not as far as the UK or Virginia as some come that far to see him in order to them with the pain so many other doctor’s do not understand. All I can say is that he is fantastic and we only need to see him once a month. The treatments so far on my daughter are working well…and NO he did not give her any narcotics…!
To sum all this up and to let others out there who may have the same syndrome and struggling with pain and mobility there is hope and as long as you hold on to hope in one hand and faith in the other life will not be helpless. Life is about educating yourself, the willingness to want to learn more no matter what the challenge is and not to depend on others for answers for those answers can be wrong or not good for you. I am so grateful to have the faith I have today for it keeps me sober, true and grateful.
Thank you Lisa and Ashling from The Watershed in Delray, Florida www.thewatershed.com for being there for me, praying for my daughter and taking the time to read my book and write a review on it. I truly appreciate it and hope others appreciate my book as well. If anyone would like to purchase my book (Drunk to Sober) you can do so through my website… www.sobrietyfitness.com