Don't Ever Let It Slow You Down

My blog on the actual concert probably won't be up for a few more days, but I've been thinking about Nick & his speech in Vegas all day. Watch the video & then continue reading...



I know I go on & on about him & how he's going to be my husband one day, but that's all jokes. I would be blessed beyond words if I ever had the opportunity to meet him, to share our stories with each other. See, a few years ago, I was afraid I was going to die. I was sick and no one could tell me what was the matter with me. My doctors were as confused as I was. Juvenile Arthritis? No. Muscle Spasms? No. Numerous MRIs & EEGs showed me to have normal brain activity. I was usually a healthy kid, but the falling asleep in class, not eating, and getting sicker than a dog over a normal cold, wasn't me. Testing started again...only this time it was more serious...diabetes...

That had to be one of the scariest moments of my life. I was strong though, because of him. I knew if he could live with it EVERYDAY, I could suffer through a day of being poked & prodded, trying to decide if this disease was what was making me so sick.

Thankful, it wasn't. Doctors still didn't have an answer for why I was sleeping for weeks on end & my joints were on fire. The more research he did into my case, the more my doctor was convinced that I had Lupus: an auto-immune disease where your immune system fights itself instead of the infection when you get sick, characterized by what are called flares & remission. You might be fine for MONTHS and then all of a sudden get really sick for weeks on end.

I spent my Junior year of high school in and out of Arkansas Children's Hospital, seeing a Rumotologist. I never had enough of the symptoms to be actually diagnosed with Lupus, but there's no doubt in my mind that I had some form of an auto immune disease and to this day, parts of it still flare up when I get sick.

I may never know what was wrong with me that year, but Nick was there for me through all of it. and not just Nick, but Kevin & Joe too. It was during this time that I became the fan that I am today. Thank You will never be enough in my opinion. I mean, what do you say to the people who are responsible for making you the person you are today?

I might not be The Jonas Brothers, or even Christa Black, but if my message & the example I leave behind can help someone else be a little stronger, like they've made me, I feel like I've done my job.

♥ Jen