About Persevere Outreach Ministries

  In 1999, while completing community service, I sat beside an older woman during a game of bingo. She was overjoyed to have won a small prize—expired, stale animal crackers. When I asked her why she was so excited, she smiled and said she was just happy that someone was thinking of them.

That moment stayed with me. Even then, I sensed it wasn’t about the prize—it was about being seen, remembered, and valued.

Years later, on January 17, 2004, I gave birth to my daughter. A few days afterward, I went for a walk, hoping to shed some baby weight. During that walk, I realized I could not lift my left foot off the ground. What I did not know at the time was that this would be the first symptom of Multiple Sclerosis.

Not long after returning to work, I was laid off when my company lost its contract. What felt like another setback was actually divine redirection.  Look at God!!

I was hired at Biogen Idec and eventually moved into Therapy Support, where I taught others how to manage their medications, understand their diagnosis, and cope with side effects of taking our medicine. I came to know the disease from every angle—not just professionally, but personally. 

As I listened to callers describe their symptoms, I began to recognize many of the same signs in myself. Quietly, I started to wonder if I, too, had Multiple Sclerosis. Time and again, doctors told me it was all in my head—that there was nothing wrong. I grew weary of appointment after appointment, only to leave feeling dismissed and unheard.

I prayed and asked God to keep me, because I knew that for many people, a major relapse is often how MS is finally discovered.

One night in January, I went upstairs and tried to pull back the covers on my bed—and nothing moved. My body would not respond. My husband rushed me to the emergency room, where I underwent an MRI and a spinal tap. It was there that I finally received the diagnosis: Multiple Sclerosis.

Living with MS placed a permanent place in my heart for those who live with disabilities. It also deepened my compassion for the elderly, who are so often forgotten, overlooked, or left behind simply because of their age. I understand what it feels like to be dismissed, underestimated, or made to feel invisible.

What once seemed like separate moments—the joy of an elderly woman being remembered and the struggle of a young mother facing chronic illness—were actually God preparing me. He turned my pain into purpose and my experience into compassion.