LIMA — You can see the glimmer in her eye when Cynthia talks about life before her illnesses. A full time job, an automobile. The ability to get her four kids to and from events.
Then the health issues began in 2018, which led to her losing a good job. She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism whose symptoms include fatigue, weight loss, irritability, depression, and Celiac disease which is an immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.
Her four kids — the oldest at the time was ten — just were not able to comprehend the severity of her depression and other health issues.
Her depression caused a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It affected how she felt, thought and behaved leading to a variety of emotional and physical problems. She had trouble doing normal day-to-day activities. A doctor suggested that she might need to file for disability if she couldn’t keep a job. She was not yet ready to accept that. There was a determination that things are going to get better.
Cynthia has been working with doctors to overcome her depression. She feels like nobody understands what she has been through and what she is going through.
Recently the medications were at the proper doses. Now Cynthis is working a very part-time job at $13.50 per hour. She feels that it is not the best but she took it because it is an opportunity to make some type of money and will hopefully put her in the mindset to ease back into working full time. Her current job helps but forces her to pick and choose among food on the table, rent, utilities, and car insurance. But she now takes care of her kids herself, with a little help from her mother. She is being more active with the kids.
The glimmer appears again as she talks about where she is in life right now. Her four kids are her inspiration. Now she just wants what is best for them. They got bikes last year. Whatever they receive this year will be a step in the right direction for Cynthia and her family.
ADOPT A STOCKING
The Adopt a Stocking Fund benefits families during the holiday season. Monetary donations can be given online at give.salvationarmy.org/stocking or via Adopt A Stocking; c/o The Salvation Army; P.O. Box 234, Lima, OH 45801. All material donations for a specific family should be dropped off at The Salvation Army, 614 E. Market St., Lima, and should include a copy of the article or the date the story appeared in The Lima News. See past stories at LimaOhio.com/tag/stocking.
Reach Dean Brown at 567-242-0409
