My name is Emily and I am a Christian mama to 3 wonderful and entertaining kids. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats that keep us busy as well. Although I am a single parent, I am blessed to have the help of my wonderful mother.
Often times when the kids are at school, you will find me caring for the critters, catching up on devotionals, baking and testing out new recipes. You might also catch me doing a little bit of writing, which has moved into this blog. Writing and chatting a little on another favorite activity…traveling.
Traveling: Yep, you guessed it. I have always had a desire to travel. As a kid growing up in the beautiful and spacious state of Montana, we tended to stick around close to home. Exploring the state and seeing the historical sites. Thanks to a family graduation, 6th grade class trip and our church youth group, I saw parts of Canada. From my first amusement park in Calgary to seeing the drills of the RCMP Academy in Regina and youth convention at the Bible College… I managed to see parts of Canada I hadn’t expected to ever see.
Current and Future Travels Now that I am older, I have expanded my travel desires: Walt Disney World and…Europe. I’m talking France, Switzerland, the UK… you name it and I’m game! I’ll even go to Antarctica on a cruise given the opportunity.
Zebra? That covers the mama and traveling part of the name, but what about the zebra? How did that come in the name? Let me give you a bit of my backstory.
Growing up, I was often sick. Since birth, I was constantly in and out of hospitals. Born at 2 & 1/2 months premature, I developed my first case of pneumonia 2 weeks old in the NICU. The cycle continued as I got older. At 7 it intensified. Thankfully, a nurse had some suspicions and got me referred to a pulmonologist who did a bronchoscopy. There was a web growing across my trachea. He zapped it, and a year or so later, had to zap it again. However, the hospitalization cycle continued into my adulthood.
1st Diagnosis Move forward to 2011-2012. By then I had 2 young kids. I became severely ill while on a family vacation out of state. Thankfully, my mom got us home and I went to my primary doctor. I was treated for an intestinal issue but after a month of not getting back to ‘normal’, he referred me to internal medicine. After a series of tests, that doctor had an answer: I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome aka POTS.
2nd Diagnosis. Jump ahead 5 years. Still dealt with POTS but the lung issues did not disappear. In fact, it intensified. Not just bronchitis and pneumonia but different junk growing inside my lungs. Like aspergillus (a fungus) and the herpes cold sore virus. Really? Who does that? Apparently, I do. Not once- but twice… In a year.
My primary pulmonologist admitted me into the hospital for a round of iv fluids to crush the virus inside my lungs then left the other pulmonologists, who were rotating rounds in the hospital, take care of me. After multitudes of tests, seven days in the hospital and 3 pulmonologists later, I had an answer for the frequent lung issues. Due to my premature birth, I had TracheoBronchiallMalacia, or TBM.
There’s more?! It didn’t end there. Because I had so many reoccurring illnesses, my primary doctor referred me to an immunologist. She did her own set of tests and 3 months after my TBM diagnosis, I had another blow. I had an immune deficiency. Specifically: IgG.
2 lifetime and lifechanging diagnosis within 3 months. That was a hard pill to swallow let alone take in the information on both. Wait- what information? All I had were 2 small pamphlets that each provider had given me when I received my diagnosis.
Zebras… After extensive research, most of which had been difficult to find, I became aware that people with uncommon or rare diseases/conditions are called zebras. The medical article I read listed a number of conditions. I happened to have 3 of them.
Why call it zebra? According to the Immune Deficiency Foundation website, “in the medical field ‘when you hear hoofbeats think horses not zebras.” Meaning: doctors usually focus on the most likely diagnosis rather than the unlikely.
What’s In a Name? And Why? Once I came to terms with my conditions, I still had to embrace the fact that I had to make lifelong adjustments. I still wanted to travel, but I let my body be a door stopper. I was letting life pass by and (I fully admit!) kind of resented those who took the opportunity to travel. That is, until this last summer. My cousin and his family were visiting and, before I knew exactly how it happened, we were booking a trip to go on vacation together. Once it was booked, I began to research ways to stay healthy while away. There would be long flights, crowded parks, and just an abundance of…people…and germs…
The more I looked, the less I seemed to find. I resorted to my social media support groups. It was then that I started coming up with the idea of a traveling blog specifically for the zebras out there. I’m here to help other zebras find their inner strength to go on the trip of their dreams. I’ll be sharing tips, tricks and trips.