That is the one word that no one ever wants to hear... disease. When we first hear that awful and unpredictable word, we immediately freak out over what is happening and what is going to happen. We all just want everything with not only our parents but our family to be okay. Even though everything happens for a reason, there is always that burning question. "Why"? There really is no factual answer to why these things happen in life. It truly is part of human nature and how our bodies naturally may respond to the environment we live in.

Having a parent that has an auto-immune disease is one of the most emotional, draining, and anxiety-ridden things a child would ever have to through. It is not an easy process going through it and dealing with it. Not only for the parent but also everyone involved in their life. If your parent has a disease, they truly are a special type of parent. Of course, all parents are special, but it really does take a strong, faithful parent to be able to push and provide for their children and take care of themselves at the same time. Story time now!

Growing up, I lived with my mom. We lived in a two-bedroom condo and I basically spent a lot of time alone and would be at my grandparent's house a lot. I would feel alone a lot from my mom because she was always working. From the time I was at school until dinner time. I had to be strong because I knew she was doing everything for good reasons to provide. Every time I look back on it, I still can't believe how she worked so hard since she was 11 years old she will always tell me. I see where independence comes from.

My mom wasn't the type to really rest. She really lived off of adrenaline even when she was exhausted. All of it finally caught up to her. In 2016, my mom started having unusual symptoms. It just started happening out of nowhere. It started getting worse when she was putting in heavier hours at work. I noticed she was experiencing extreme fatigue but out of the ordinary. It would be so bad that she would skip eating and just get in bed. Then she started experiencing this strange cough. She would cough so hard she would throw up. It was occurring very often. Then her breathing starting to act up and she could not breathe well.

Through all of this, she was still going to work like any other day. Finally, one night, my family said enough was enough. I had just gotten home from somewhere and I went upstairs and my mom was in her bed in the dark. I knew something was wrong because my grandma was in there. My mom was at her lowest at this point. The next day while I was at school, I find out my mom went into the doctor but they sent her straight to the ER because they thought she had tuberculosis. They ran more tests in the ER and thank you, Jesus, she didn't and we knew it wasn't that because we would of all been sick.

They found out that she has an auto-immune disease called Sarcoidosis. It is similar to Lupus and cause a lot of inflammation everywhere in the body and really affects the lungs. My mom had blood clots in her legs and in her lungs as further testing continued. It blows my mind how it didn't travel to her heart or brain. My mom stayed in the hospital for a while and it was not fun to see and I know it was bad to be in that situation. When I tell you guys my mom looked sick... she looked SICK. It looked like there was no more life left in her.

She would even tell me how she was ready to go and would just have the lord take her. My mom truly is a warrior because she worked the whole time while being sick and 2 years later she is still working but of course more modified but she still has the mentality of working for what she wants... and she's still the best mother on top of it all... this disease has taught her a lot to take better care of herself and to cherish life more. She wasn't doing that before and it also made our relationship closer because it wasn't as close on certain levels before. The whole process is scary and emotional and I know a lot of people can relate to this internally and on a personal level. I don't wish any of this on my worst enemy... never...

To everyone, take care of yourself, and take care of each other. This is real life and it is precious.