It happens fast 

The top left photo is taken 4 hours before all of the others… when you think allergies some people thing of swelling running nose itchy eyes and skin. Which is true…

  Anaphylaxis is scary… sometimes fast sometimes easy and all confusing…
This is a peek into this horrid disease. 

mast cell activation syndrome 

     

Imagine slowly as you age becoming allergic to close to all things that grow outside. Imagine me the tree hugger, Gardner, green thumb, beautiful outdoor air lover who was holding a bottle of Benadryl in my backpack to make sure I had it on hand during spring.  As the seasons changed and the years went by I become allergic to more and more adding to an already long list of animals, grass, trees, dust, strong smells, and then at 17 years old I started gaining more and more food allergies. From corn to soy to wheat to cherries. They kept growing. Everytime I went to the dr I had more.  I had two epipens with me at All times. I had my Benadryl right next to it. I read everything I ate. If it was something I didn’t trust I didn’t eat. One summer I was doing mission work and lost a lot of weight because as a vegan allergic to over 30 foods I ate bananas rice and black beans mainly for the whole summer. 
   This kept getting worse. I was allergy attack away from using an epipen at all times. 

   In 2014 a doctor spoke the words mast cell activation syndrome… I wasn’t officially diagnosed till a while later. 

   I am not fearful of what I’m allergic to but I do fear of what I’m gonna become allergic to. 

  My mast cells are having way to much fun. 

   But one thing my mast cells don’t seem to understand is that I’m way stronger then them… 
  


I will wear a mask with a filters on it whenever I go somewhere to

Keep my allergens from upsetting my mast cells and sending me into anaphylaxis. I know had a picc line in my arm that will keep the iv Benadryl I take six times a day at least flowing into my body. I keep 6 epipens on me. My mom has benadryl, meds and epipens in her purse. She has flushed and small green caps I keep at the end of my line. My papa has epipens in his backpack he has flushes extra tape Meds for seizures flushes for my line and those little green caps. 
  Stephie and Nick im sure find these types of things around there house. Sorry about that
  My body is slowly becoming allergic to everything with no FDA treatment. Who knows what’s gonna happen but I will not fear. Because this rare ShayWeasel living inside a rare body isn’t fearful of the unknown because everything I’ve ever known is unknown. 
Soo every time I go from vampire pale to insanely red know that my mast cells are doing what they do… making anaphylaxis

Be aware of the rare 

ShayWeasel 

How Being Asked If They Could Pray For Healing Changed My Mind

  The other day I was at Kmart for the main purpose of peeing… 

    Now I had just left a horrible doctors appointment that made me feel like I was doing everything wrong. 

   My papa was checking out when I sat down near the exit of the store. I was sitting on my roll aid walker and a lady walked over to me and said ever so kindly “can I ask what’s wrong with you!?” 

  I explain that I had a few rare and life-threatening diseases and that I was basically allergic to everything. 

   She felt bad she said “oh I’m so sorry you seem so lovely I’m so sorry you have to deal with this. Can I pray for you?” I nodded and said “yes praying would be ok” 

   She smiled and said “I’ll be praying for healing for your little body” 

  I smiled and without thinking said “can you pray for understanding, love and acceptince instead?” The lady’s smile grew very big and she said “young lady I can! Thank you for your kindness.” 

   I then said “what can I pray for you about?” 

 She went on to tell me her name was Nancy and she was facing some scary health problems. I told her that I would be praying. I gave her a link to my blog and then said “feel emotional. It’s ok.” She hugged me with tear filled us and said thank you. 


   I walked with my walker out of the store telling my papa what happened. 
  A few hours later it hit me really hard that healing isn’t what I’m looking for. I’m looking for better treatments for love, for understanding and acceptance. 
  I have it. I have understanding. I have acceptance. I have love. I don’t have better treatments but 3 out of 4 isn’t bad! It is ok to not dream for healing but to dream for life…
  I’m ShayWeasel I’m who I wanted to meet when I was a child. I became what I needed to survive. I don’t healing. I need understanding. And I got it. 
ShayWeasel out…  

PollyAnna Please Rise

Have you ever seen a movie named Pollyanna? Its about a girl who goes to live with her rich aunt after the girl pollyanna loses her parents who were missionaries over seas. Pollyanna believes there is good in everyday weirdness she believes you need to find the glad.

She calls it the glad game, the movie focus on how she changes the place she lives because she truly wants to be glad, and the people around her she shows how to be glad in a very little world that isn’t always so glad.

This ,movie is one of my favorite movies. I have watched it a lot. I love her. That is who i wanted to be like. So try. Everyday to be glad for the deepest darkest things I don’t want but you have to be glad.

Spolider at the end of the movie, pollyanna falls down off a high tree and she is unable to move her legs, she is paralyzed, but the town comes together as pollyanna becomes so sad that she can’t walk and she feels like this over, all the gladness is gone she feels. But the town pulls together and shows Pollyanna how being glad is always a choice, so she as she is sent off to the hospital has peopled lined up telling pollyanna she is amazing, she is joy within herself.

She doesn’t all the sudden walk. And the movie ends with a happy ending, thats not what happens. It ends happy with pollyanna being unable to walk but finding the gladness in not walking. In being yourself. In being who you truly are. Pollyanna finds the glad. She doesn’t stop believing in glad because she’s sick. She is ok with gladness being scary.

I    I am the pollyanna I need to be. I have to find gladness. Not find sad and be mad I will not stop my joy my gladness because my body is failing me. At least. At least I can be so glad that I am able to keep living with the most amazing world I have found gladness in scary times but I keep gladness all day..

So anyone want to join me shay weasel in being a pollyanna? In finding gladness? Pollyannas please rise. I have faith in God that I that you can do this. God. He is gladness.

 

I am gladly Shayweasel.

Blood donors and iron infusions! 

Today I got a full iron transfusion and I got a ferritin transfusion which is like what holds iron in your body
The iron is then released into the blood stream, where a protein called transferritin or just ferritin attaches to it and delivers the iron to the liver. Iron is stored in the liver as ferritin and released as needed to make new red blood cells in the bone marrow. 
So when my body makes the protein ferritin but my body doesn’t make enough ferritin for my body to hold iron like it should. And on top of this my eosinophils (a type of white blood cells) attack random parts of my body anything from my throat to my colon and then collect in organs like my lungs and liver.  

   My body makes red blood cells but they don’t “live” per-say as long as they should be. So they die off and my body is without the amount of red blood cells as they should. And red blood cells are the blood cells that carry oxygen and help you live. 
  As you can see from these photos this is my disease at its finest. Something you can see.. pale skin, swollen face and kinda puff. My skin seems see through on the photo on the left… the photo on the right is from after I got the transfusion. 

  Now in that one my skin is looking more alive my body isn’t as puffy. I’m not as swollen and most of all I feel slightly better. This is not a fix all for everything but it is a need for me. Blood donors save life’s everyday and they don’t even know it. My blood wasn’t as low as it has been I didn’t get blood fully this time but it’s always something that I might need. 

   So if you feel like doing something amazing this Christmas season then go and donate some blood!! You save life’s every time you donate!! 
  I know people who have to go get blood every few weeks. They wouldn’t be alive without donors. 


  I’m anemic. As has been always will be. But I got iron I got stuff to make me strong. To make me feel better! 

  

  This past year has been insane but one thing is fully and lovingly true. With my family my friends my God and lots of cute humans and dogs!!!! I made it! 

  

 Happiness is sometimes color on your skin. Sometimes it’s just what I need.. 


  Life is full of joyful things!!… 

Shayweasel got some energy… out!!