This little blog has gotten a lot of unexpected attention over the last two weeks and I thought it was time for my new readers to find out who I really am and what I stand for.

The tagline goes that in April 2015 I almost died from sepsis, toxic shock syndrome, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. I’ve said it and heard about it so many times that it’s almost lost its impact. It’s almost become a routine thing to say. Just this little thing that happened. A blip in the radar, really.

Here’s the thing: it’s a very different to say it or read about it than it is to live it. It was horrible and awful and I very much wanted to curl up in the fetal position and stay in bed than do the hard work that the recovery entails. But I didn’t. Instead, I founded the Begin Again Foundation. My family is my heart and this foundation is my passion. I give them both all I have, every single day. So, here’s a little about what we do:

When I was being discharged from the hospital the nurse came to me and told me about the costs of my home health care, IV antibiotics, walker, bedside commode and shower chair. She finished by asking if these costs would be okay. I thought to myself, what if they weren’t? What if we couldn’t afford it? That’s why we offer $1,000 grants to survivors of sepsis, ARDS, and TSS.

A note from a grant recipient:

Please meet my dear friend and fellow sepsis survivor that we were proud to fly out for a weekend away from her treatments at our first event.

September was World Sepsis Awareness Month and to support this we had ribbons at the BMW Championship for the players to place on their hats. I believe with every ounce of faith that I have that God chose this week as the one for Marc to win.

 

How I got sick is a little complicated and you can read all about it here. The short story boils down to me using tampons. Did you know feminine hygiene products are one of the biggest needs of the homeless population?  That’s why we are supplying 100% cotton pads to three shelters in the Hampton Roads area.

Can you imagine having a sick child in the hospital and not being able to afford transportation to visit them? Or worrying about how you will fill their prescription for lifesaving medications? Or how you will pay for rent, groceries, light bill? We don’t want anyone to have to worry about these things and that’s why we are proud to support the Social Department at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters and the Leila Rose Foundation in Australia.

 

And sometimes life asks us to step up and step in which is why we felt called to help Hurricane Harvey victims.

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 

1 John 3:17-18

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Winston Churchill