Hi everyone, and welcome to the page where we celebrate my awesome sister, Stephanie!  Steph has a wonderful life story, and those of you who know and love her can testify to her determination not to let ANYTHING steal her joy.  For the last 15 years, she has battled rapid onset scoliosis, back surgery, lupus, pancreatitis, crohn's disease, and all of the unfortunate issues that come along with the medicines that treat these horrid things.  Despite all of those struggles, she never ceases being a friend to all, always providing a warm laugh, a beautiful smile, and a listening ear.  

Recently, in the midst of the chaos that is 2020, somewhere in between Corona, riots, my dad's heart surgery and everything else that this year has brought, Steph has had another health issue arise.  She has developed severe arthritis in her knees and arm, to the point of struggling to walk or sit.  It may not be evident from looking at her because she is such a great trooper after YEARS of battling one illness after the other, but this one is really taking a toll on her enjoyment in life.  The bizarre part is, there is no answer for what is causing this attack.  Her bloodwork that would normally clue us in to a lupus flare up is completely normal.  The doctors don't have any answers, and the medicines that they have attempted for her have caused her EXTREME sickness.

We do have some positive news, though!  We have found a specialist that has some new ideas for how to treat Steph's many issues, hopefully in a way that can prevent future issues from coming up!  Steph was so encouraged after getting off the phone with him today that she was crying- anything for just a little bit of hope in this desperate situation.  While she was busy celebrating a light at the end of the tunnel, I was listening to the practical side of things.  This testing and treatment is going to be expensive, and her insurance doesn't cover very much of it at all.  She's looking at somewhere between $3000-4000 by the time she pays for the special tests, the specialist to review everything, and the appointments that come with it.

As I was sitting there listening to her preparing to charge this enormous figure to her credit card, I got to thinking- as many people that love Steph, that she has been a light to over the last 15 years, couldn't we just come together and help her with this one thing in life?  She is not destitute.  So if you're reading this and you're in a tough time in life, say a prayer for her and that will be just as valuable to her.  But if you're in a comfortable position right now, would you consider sharing a small amount to help her cover this expense?  My thought is, if all the people who loved Steph gave even $10, it would take a huge chunk off of this treatment she needs to pay for!

Life is often unfair, in so many ways.  Steph has just started her business this year with all the startup costs that come with that, and her rental house that she invested a lot into this past winter kind of tanked in profits for obvious reasons due to the health crisis.  It's sad to see her having to invest another large chunk of money that she's working so hard to earn on this battle that was handed to her through no fault of her own.

Soooo if Steph has meant a lot to you and you have the ability, please show her some love!  I would absolutely love to bless her in this one way.  She hasn't had a lot handed to her easily these past 15 years, and she will tell you herself that the struggles have only served to make her a better person.  But this one thing... maybe we can make just one thing better and remind her of how very much she is loved!

Also- if you've read down to the end... congrats!  You've made it through one of my famously long posts.  Now- leave us one of your favorite memories of Steph in the comments to make her smile!