For instance, most kids don't ever have to think about dying an early death or having doctors put an expiration date on your life. This cannot only be emotionally devastating but spiritually devastating as well as "words of death" are constantly being spoken over you. As a kid, you can feel the fear and anxiety in those around you so you take it upon yourself to be the "brave" one. You learn how to mask and hide your true feelings and inadvertently start pretending to be someone you are not.
While Mandy talks about these struggles growing up with cystic fibrosis and with doctors telling her she would never see her high school graduation, she offers much hope despite her dire circumstances. She does believe she has experienced God's healing in her life - to the point that she can run miles without gasping for air. But she also recognizes that just because she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, she knows she still has a choice to choose sickness or to choose health and wholeness. She says, "When it comes to our health and quality of life, we always have a choice." Some of the positive choices she has made to help her live as healthy of a lifestyle as possible include eating well, exercising, chiropractic care, massage therapy and using essential oils.
Mandy B Anderson shares her story at Java JOY in Bismarck |
She recalls a time at a wedding reception when one of her classmates that she had not seen for several years and who had too much to drink came up to her and said very loudly, "Wow! You're still alive! I thought you would've been dead by now from that thing you live with." Not only had she learned to forgive people who said insensitive things to her but she also had to learn to forgive herself for thinking she wasn't good enough, for not believing in herself and for judgments she held towards herself.
Mandy and her team at a speaking event in Bismarck |
Mandy does a great job throughout her book of telling her story to those themselves who struggle with chronic illness but also to parents who have children with a congenital or incurable disease. I think any parent of a child with any type of special needs will also get a lot out of this book and might enable you to better relate to your child by understanding what your child may be feeling or thinking. Even if you are not one who is dealing with sickness but are trying to make positive changes in your life, this book will be helpful and encouraging.
Click HERE to learn more about Mandy B. Anderson. Buy Mandy's book: In Sickness and In Health: Lessons Learned on the Journey from Cystic Fibrosis to Total Health
Mandy selling a copy of her book |