Just want to dance the pain away and need help paying for the dance program!

        The most difficult part of living with a chronic illness (auto-immune disease) has been missing my life. I miss my life because, thanks to post exertional malaise (PEM), I now associate many of the things I used to love with pain and intense exhaustion. When I try to do the things I love or even doing normal everyday things like cooking and cleaning my home, then I wake up the next day extremely exhausted and feeling like I just survived being beat all over with a baseball bat. It is like I am being punished for living my life. It is very demoralizing and often leads me to curl up in my bed and cry. This disease has taken away my sense of self-worth, my source joy and my hope. I often feel alone and live each day for that day alone because I have no hope for next day.

                 I recently discovered ballroom dancing and it has been positively transformational to my life and health. I have always danced at home but I hadn't noticed any such positive effects before. I still suffer PEM after dancing but it has been much milder than what I suffer after an hour of studying or in the kitchen so I see it as a great success. Ballroom dancing has been very therapeutic-- both physically and mentally. When I dance, somehow, my stiff joints loosen up, the muscle pain is dulled and I feel like I am on top of the world and invincible. It is a great feeling.  Ballroom dancing has made me happy and for the first time in 8 years, I feel alive again.

                After struggling through my senior year and graduating with a less than favorable GPA, I was beginning to settle for mediocrity and considering not furthering my education but dancing has helped me to believe in myself again: that I am not useless; that I am still good at something; that I still have something to offer this world; that I can still go grad school and that the possibilities are endless.

*********************************************************************************************************

                 I have completed the ballroom basics program and I would love to complete the bronze program as well. Completing the bronze program will teach me the proper techniques of dance and give me more dance time -- I have noticed that the bronze dancers get to dance more often.  The dance program costs about $250 per month .  All I want is to dance more but I cannot afford to pay for the dance program. I miss a lot of days from work due to PEM, I still owe a lot on my tuition from OSU and my income is already stretched to the max. I truly want to continue dancing and I am now appealing to you, my friends, to help me raise the funds.  Here are some of the ways you may help:

 1- Continue praying for me

 2- Making a donation through this Fundrazr app which deposits the money directly into my PayPal account (to donate by check, cash or other form, please inbox me).

 3- Sharing this on your page and asking your friends to consider helping me.

Thanks in advance. I am ever grateful to have you in my life.

Sincerely,

Dee.