Enjoys helping and supporting others: Meet @dlydailyhope

ROSEMARY: What brought you to Mayo Clinic Connect? 

@dlydailyhope: I found Mayo Clinic Connect when researching different health topics on the internet. Mayo Clinic is very reputable and I wanted to connect with others dealing with similar health issues to seek and offer support.

ROSEMARY: What motivates you to take part in the community?

@dlydailyhope: I love sharing experiences with others and getting input from the community on what works and does not work for them. Everyone is so supportive and it seems many want to help others know they are not alone in their health struggles.

ROSEMARY: What about Mayo Clinic Connect makes you feel comfortable to share and to be open with the community?

@dlydailyhope: I like that Mayo Clinic Connect has volunteer mentors and staff moderators who monitor the site for inappropriate posts. Since our identity is masked, I feel comfortable to share my experiences, thoughts and questions with others in the hopes that it can help someone else.

ROSEMARY: What support groups do you participate in?

@dlydailyhope: The groups I am most active in are: Bones, Joints & Muscles; Depression & Anxiety; Neuropathy; and Spine Health support group. I also follow and participate in several other groups.

ROSEMARY: Tell us about a meaningful moment on Mayo Clinic Connect.

@dlydailyhope: There are many times I felt really good about helping someone get thoughts and ideas about what to ask their doctors about their condition or investigate their diagnosis or treatment further. I have learned some things about others’ experiences with spine surgeries or medications taken for chronic pain and depression. I have also picked up some things about neuropathy treatments I hadn't considered before. It has been therapeutic for me to share my difficult experiences with getting properly diagnosed and treated for many years and encourage others to advocate for self and do research to be better prepared with questions for doctor's appointments.

ROSEMARY: What surprised you the most about Mayo Clinic Connect?

@dlydailyhope: It surprised me how much I look forward everyday to the email with updates and new posts so I can read and respond if I have something to share. I feel like I belong to this community and it has been wonderful to be able to share things with strangers who can relate with what I am going through. I do not have anyone in my life I can share these things with so I am thankful for Mayo Clinic Connect. I even made a new friend by reaching out to someone really struggling with his health.

ROSEMARY: What energizes you, or how do you find balance in your life? 

@dlydailyhope: My faith grounds me and gives me daily hope. People also energize me. Helping others and being empathetic makes me feel good. My teenage son and being a single parent keeps me busy, too. 

I have learned how to ask for help which was always hard for me. It is still a work in progress. This helps me take care of responsibilities that I struggle with due to my health. Lifting heavy things, reaching for things and going up and down stairs is not easy for me. Luckily my son is tall and strong. He is a gift from God because I struggled with infertility for a long time while married. He is my only family and a true blessing.

ROSEMARY: Tell us about your favorite pastime or activity.

@dlydailyhope: Before my health issues, I used to love to dance. I have always been an animal lover since I was very young. I have cats and dogs and used to foster pregnant and nursing dogs and cats. I risked my life to rescue a kitten thrown from a car on a freeway during afternoon rush hour and a family of ducks with ducklings stuck in the fast lane of a busy highway during morning rush hour on my way to an interview. I also saved a baby robin hatchling (had no feathers) that had its nest fall out of a tree during a storm. I fed the baby bird multiple times a day, kept it warm and took it outside to learn to fly until it was ready to go out on its own. This is how I spent my staycation week when my son was young.

ROSEMARY: Do you have a favorite quote, life motto or personal mantra?

@dlydailyhope: The Serenity Prayer:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.
—Reinhold Niebuhr

ROSEMARY: What do you appreciate the most in your friends? 

@dlydailyhope: Honesty, integrity, humor and trustworthiness.

ROSEMARY: What food can you simply not resist? 

@dlydailyhope: Believe it or not, seasoned and mixed roasted vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, celery, beets, etc.).

ROSEMARY: If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see cast as you?

@dlydailyhope: I used to be told when I was younger (and thinner) that I looked like Catherine Zeta Jones so I would have her play me.

ROSEMARY: What do you love about where you live or vacation?

@dlydailyhope: I love living in a place that has four seasons. My favorite season is the fall with spring my next favorite. I don't like really hot temperatures. Fall is nice due to the changing leaves and cooler temperatures plus I look forward to the holiday season. Spring is wonderful for the gradually warming temperatures and new growth. I love seeing my bulbs bloom where I forgot I planted them or a squirrel moved them.

ROSEMARY: Puppies or kittens?

I have a little zoo of 2 dogs and 8 cats (6 are foster "failures" 🙂

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