Never Never Never Give Up

I was 7 years old the first time I heard this quote from Winston Churchill. There was a poster in my 2nd grade classroom, that I would stare at and I often got lost in thought about how even though my world around me was giving up....I would never do that....I would always stand up for what I believed in.

At 7 yrs old, I could not possibly understand all that I would be faced with as far as living with Neurofibromatosis. As far as I knew, I didn't have it...It was something my brother was dealing with. I promised that I would never give up on my brother...that I would always be there for him.

Twenty-five years later, I was faced with the reality of being diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis. It took my a long time to accept this reality...and I wasn't always positive about it. Having NF was a hard pill to swallow for me. It was almost as if, I just wasn't ready for all that this reality brought with it. I was scared, and realized, I had been living in deep denial for a long long time.

After three of my children were diagnosed and receiving treatments for NF, this reality became something that I needed to more than just "deal with". I needed to become an example of strength, to help guide my children in a positive direction.

"THRIVING", has become a way of life for me and my family. We "NEVER NEVER NEVER Give up" on things that are placed before us. The road is not always easy, in fact it's rarely easy, but the alternative is not an option.