Extraordinary Me

I've been living with Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO) for many years. It is a rare disease that causes inflammation in any of my bone lesions and causes many other recurring symptoms. I am also late-deafened, which made my experiences in the "hearing world" even more difficult. Dealing with such changes caused me to be DEPRESSED because I became unfamiliar with myself. All of my DREAMS faded away–leaving me in dreadful DARKNESS.  I made choices that were unlike my character, like treating those close to me terribly because my MOOD was unstable, running away into the cold looking for answers because I felt like I had NO CONTROL over my life, attempting to poison myself because I was exhausted, and SELF-SABOTAGED because I felt CURSED and didn't think I DESERVED anything good. I can continue listing all the poor decisions I made, but that is not who I AM anymore. Those situations do NOT DEFINE me. Instead, the STRENGTH and KNOWLEDGE that I gained during that time became my primary IDENTITY.  One day, after PRAYING with all my HEART, I immediately felt HOPE and knew I could have a life that brought me HAPPINESS and utmost PEACE. So, I made a conscious EFFORT to focus on things I could CONTROL and participate in activities I was good at, which led to this blog.