Yolanda Foster: Erika Did What a Good Friend Does

Hello Bravo lovers,

Thank you for tuning in each week and traveling this journey with us.

I am happy to share that it’s been a pretty good week…
What is a good week? For me, it’s about more bright moments of “I’ve got this, I CAN DO THIS!” than usual. Treatments, pain and severe fatigue still keep me in bed 18 out of my 24 hours each day, but I am grateful for the luxury of reading and writing again. Healing the brain is a slow process and on its own clock, but I am for sure making steady progress--one day at a time. I see every day as a second chance to get well.
My bedroom is now my office, just so I feel good about spending so much time there. It's common for the chronically ill to feel inadequate about not participating in life, but we often forget that fighting long-term disease is a full-time job on its own. It's not for pussies, thats for sure!

So cheers to the good moments of this week, and thank you to all of you whose constant love and support mean the world to me. Raising my glass of juice to all of YOU!

I’m am excited to start another healthy week of nourishing my body with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, energizing and immune-building foods. During this week I will be consuming over 35 different types of vegetables and 14 different types of beans, nuts and seeds.
You really are what you eat, especially for those of us who battle chronic disease. Keeping the inflammation down to a minimum is key and relieves a lot of symptoms.

Tonight’s show was hilariously dense with drama!

Erika’s show was amazing. I am so proud of my girlfriend and promise her that I will be front row and center as soon as I can! Watching the girls have fun and let loose was refreshing! Erika, you are an inspiration!

I feel I should clarify the subject at hand…
Discussing my children's and my health issues with the intent to provoke doubt or gossip is not OK. I shared my concerns about my children's health with Kyle on two separate occasions with plenty of opportunity for her to ask questions. She chose to bring it up once again at her barbecue just to stir the pot without any consciousness or consideration about the fact that it was my children she was talking about. Obviously she had discussed this matter with LVP in detail before.
I wish they wouldn't take our feelings for granted and consider how much courage it took to show them.

I went to “great lengths” to show Lisa and Kyle my kids' medical records just to finally shut down the conversation. Our journey is backed up with black and white proof, so if you have time to gossip about such a sensitive subject, why can't you make time to review the facts of it?

I am an adult and have learned to accept people's ignorance on the matter of Lyme and invisible chronic disease in general. Both my children deserve a sincere apology from those adults who cast doubt on their journey and put this bad seed out in the universe.
It is simply unconscionable that my “friends” would doubt and discredit my word relating to such a delicate and sensitive matter.

Erika did what a good friend does: She brought me truthful information which was accurate. There is a difference between talk that is factual and trash talk.
We have all seen this story unfold in front of our eyes, step by step and it’s simple: Untruths were brought to the table for consideration, provoking doubt and discomfort amongst my friends and in our community.
The problem starts there--the wind that starts the fire. I won't burn in this flame, though…I have let this go. I will continue to defend my children, but I will not engage in this gossip!
I have much bigger fish to fry! Like raising money for proper diagnostic and a cure affordable for all. I will continue to educate and bring awareness to this subject until people like my friends open their heart to invisible disease and hopefully judgement gets converted to kindness.

I told Lisa R about the conversation that had come up at the BBQ regarding my children and she confirmed it...my emotional response is what you saw.

Maybe my expectations are high when it comes to loyalty, but if everyone just chose to stand up for what is right, we wouldn't still be talking about this subject, right?

Many of you have asked about CRYOTHERAPY and why I choose this as part of my treatment…
For a couple of months after my explant surgery, I used it as a tool to bring down inflammation and speed up healing. It really worked for that particular chapter of my journey.

It was hilarious to take the girls into an hour of my life…It’s COLD, no doubt, but it’s amazing what our bodies will tolerate when we are determined to get well!

On the home front, all is coming together…
I have been designing homes for decades, and if I hadn’t chosen to raise my three kids full-time, I probably would have spent my days running a interior design company. There are some things you just feel in your body that come to you naturally, and when I tap into the creative part of my soul, I am in my happy place! I have a thing for creating a space that feels like home. These days my skills feel limited and a little rusty but nourishing a passion has been so beneficial to my daily state of mind and so ON I GO!

Until next week!

Much love,

YO