What Must It Be Like?

Today I feel a little sick. It's probably just a touch of the flu, but  I feel tired, weak and dizzy. I had to pass on an early morning couponing excursion and a trip to the gym. I've been trying to do a few chores around the house but find myself having to sit down to rest every few minutes. Everything is a bit of a struggle. In short, I can't do what I want and need to do today. Poor, poor pitiful me? No, not at all. I will be fine, or as my mother says, "right as rain" in a day or two. So what's the point of all this? It made me think about people who live with chronic illnesses and who are not  able to simply bounce back after a little rest.

It made me think about what it must be like to be young and living with cystic fibrosis. To have the desire but not the energy to move through life with the zest and the passion you feel in your heart. To miss and worry about your young son and your husband when you have to be  hospitalized and away from them. To  need a double lung transplant at the time in life when most of us are healthy and strong with hopes and prospects for a bright future.

There is no way I could even begin to know how Aimee Driscoll feels, but I do know that we can help her and her family through the Second Chances Foundation. Please visit and like the page at http://www.facebook.com/2ndchancesfoundation  Please consider sending a donation and/or attending one of the foundation's fund-raising  events like the upcoming Halloween Masquerade Ball on Oct. 26th at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston.

Of course, I would love to see you all at our Couponing Workshop Tuesday, October 23rd at 6:00 PM at Kaplan University in Lewiston. Maureen Hopkins of 2012 - A Year in Coupons ( http://2012incoupons.blogspot.com/) will be talking about using coupons and taking advantage of store rewards to get the best deal possible on things you use every day. We will also be raffling off a fully-stocked coupon binder and a CVS gift card to jump start you on your couponing adventures!

If you can't attend, you can send checks made payable to Second Chances to Oxford Federal Credit Union, 225 River Rd., PO Box 252, Mexico, ME 042576.