When Erin first started The Silver Lining of Fibro on Facebook it was a personal experiment to see if she could change the way she thought and felt about being sick. After being encouraged by her support group, she decided to challenge herself to find something positive related to her Fibromyalgia each day... and every day felt a little bit better about herself and her disease.
It worked. Through this experiment and her support group she came to a point where she could start the healing of her soul since it was impossible to heal her body. And it seemed that people were listening.... and that maybe she was helping someone else the way that her support group helped her. Her depression lifted, the view of the future brightened, and each day it was just a little easier to face the challenges and changes to come.
At the same time, Brandi and Erin were rapidly becoming friends through the aforementioned support group. When Brandi brought up the idea of starting her own blog, Erin jumped on the opportunity and asked Brandi to join forces with her to turn The Silver Lining into an "intermediate" level support group for people with fibromyalgia. A place for the people that have come to accept their conditions and limitations and still live each day to to that day's full potential... no matter how unpredictable and variable that potential is. A place for people to share their triumphs, their failings, their heartaches, and their joy. A place for people to share their lives, not just their disease.... to remember who they were before they got sick and grow into a new and whole person even if they had to spend several days each week in bed and take countless medications. A place to learn how to cope after they accept there is no other choice other than to admit defeat.
Most of all, they wanted a place for friendships to form... because in knowing each other they figured out that the connections that had been formed despite their daily exhaustion and pain had become the true silver lining of having fibromyalgia.
It worked. Through this experiment and her support group she came to a point where she could start the healing of her soul since it was impossible to heal her body. And it seemed that people were listening.... and that maybe she was helping someone else the way that her support group helped her. Her depression lifted, the view of the future brightened, and each day it was just a little easier to face the challenges and changes to come.
At the same time, Brandi and Erin were rapidly becoming friends through the aforementioned support group. When Brandi brought up the idea of starting her own blog, Erin jumped on the opportunity and asked Brandi to join forces with her to turn The Silver Lining into an "intermediate" level support group for people with fibromyalgia. A place for the people that have come to accept their conditions and limitations and still live each day to to that day's full potential... no matter how unpredictable and variable that potential is. A place for people to share their triumphs, their failings, their heartaches, and their joy. A place for people to share their lives, not just their disease.... to remember who they were before they got sick and grow into a new and whole person even if they had to spend several days each week in bed and take countless medications. A place to learn how to cope after they accept there is no other choice other than to admit defeat.
Most of all, they wanted a place for friendships to form... because in knowing each other they figured out that the connections that had been formed despite their daily exhaustion and pain had become the true silver lining of having fibromyalgia.
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