Meet The Authorz

We are not only Fibro Fighterz, but we are writers, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches, and so much more! Find out a little bit about us all below!

Jennifer L. Corter

Editor in Chief -FighterZine
Founder-FibroFighterz

Jennifer is a 22 year-old stay-at-home mom to a little ball of energy named Syrus Voltaire. She is a freelance writer/journalist with a passion for creating jewelry. She began FibroFighterz in the summer of 2007, and since then the site has grown to over 9,300 fans and growing more and more each day. If you would like to know more about FibroFighterz or would like to contribute to Fighterzine, please contact her at JLynnCorter@yahoo.com

Jeremy Corter

Editor At Large/Super Supportive Spouse

Jeremy is a 25 year old devoted husband and father. He spends much of his time reading, playing with his son and supporting his wife’s many endeavors. He currently works as a laboratory assistant and frequently enjoys writing and editing.

Jennifer Wick

Contributor

Jennifer is a 41 year-old Fibro Fighter who has been battling this condition for the past ten years, and has been doing so without the use of prescription medications.  She is currently employed as an executive assistant to an attorney, a job which she enjoys. She frequently enjoys football games, gardening, watching movies and writing.

Kate Chappell

Contributor

Kate is a 31 year old Chronic Pain Demon Fighter, who has been battling chronic pain for 6 years. She has multiple headache conditions, Cluster Headaches, Chronic (everyday) Tension Headaches, Migraines & TrigeminalNeuralgia. She was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in March 2012. She enjoys crocheting, scary movies, reading, music, spending time with her Husband & family. Her therapy is blogging about  her “adventures” through out the pain infiltration.

Tabitha  McKendry

Contributor

Tabitha is a 34 year-old stay at home mom of 2 beautiful children’ 10 year old Brendin and 8 year-old Devin. She has been happily married to Matt, the love of her life for almost 14 years. She possesses a degree in Executive Secretarial and Freelance Writing. She was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia nearly 5 years ago, after she had gastric bypass surgery. Since then she has lost 130 pounds and has kept it off. She has enjoyed writing since she was a little girl, and has big plans for the future which includes writing and publishing her first book. She also enjoys reading and spending time with her friends and family.

Melody Whittinghill

Contributor

Melody is a 26 year-old Fibro Fighter, officially diagnosed in 2012, but her symptoms began when she gave birth to her youngest daughter. Although this illness has proved to be challenging for her, she wouldn’t trade her daughter for the world. She enjoys being a stay-at-home mom, a writer, singer and scrapbooker. She also enjoys keeping herself busy and is always quick to lend a hand to those in need.

Genna Granger

Contributor

“Hello all! My name is Genna. I am a wife of (almost) 15 years and mother to 5 rambunctious little munchkins ages 12.5, 10, 7, 3.75, and 16 months old. Indeed, keeping up with my crew and the associated responsibilities is quite the monumental undertaking and would be so for anyone. Dealing with Fibromyalgia in the midst of all of this has truly been a test of my will and determination. My oldest daughter has Type 1 diabetes and chronic asthma as well, so, while she is an energetic and bright young lady, she has some struggles of her own, suffering from chronic migraines, too. I’ve dealt with Fibromyalgia and its troublesome symptoms for at least 10 years but thought that I was just exhausted and getting older. After the birth of my, now, 3.75 year old (LoL), something changed… EVERYTHING changed. I couldn’t remain alert, my body would hurt all over, and I’d fall asleep every evening on my husband’s shoulder. This was SO unlike me. Taking naps? Spending the entire day indoors, too worn out by the THOUGHT of an outing to even consider it. Initially, I thought that it was just a period of adjustment that I was enduring because of the baby. Thankfully, I have a very thorough GP who referred me to a rheumatologist immediately and I received a diagnosis very quickly. That, however, was just the beginning. I would be referred from my rheumatologist to a neurologist, trying all of the medications “approved” for use as treatment for Fibromyalgia: Lyrica, Cymbalta, Savella, Effexor XR with no relief. In the process, I became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage, that sent me into a very difficult time, physically and emotionally. Thankfully, through prayer and support, I was able to find comfort and have, since, welcomed a new little one to the bunch, now 16 months old. Unfortunately, I found no relief in the medications that I tried and had truly lost hope in EVER reclaiming any quality of life. However, after many, many doctor’s visits, I finally found a compassionate doctor who listened and worked with me to find the right combination of medications to maximize my comfort. It’s been a VERY long road but I’m SO glad to be here and be able to say: “I’m a FIGHTER!” I look forward to getting to know all of my fellow Fighterz!”

Sonya Richards

Contributor

“My name is Sonya Richards.  I am 48 years old, married and and have two daughters, 24 & 18.  I live outside of Richmond Virginia.  I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia eight years ago.  I started out with some strange fatigue.  I can’t really remember the specifics now, but I know it was more than just a tired feeling, otherwise I would not have gone to the doctor about it.  He thought I might be depressed and so did I, so I started taking St. John’s Wort.  Don’t remember how that went, but it didn’t work or I wouldn’t be here now.  Next came the strange pains.  Again, hard to remember it all but what I do remember is my GP touching a spot on my back along the spine that made me nearly jump off the table!  It felt like a bruise, only ten times more painful.  So off to have an xray, which showed some arthritis in my spine but not enough to cause the degree of pain I had.

Next pain I remember was a soreness under both arms and after that, pain in a band around my chest.  Then came the fateful day when I awoke to a pressure in the center of my chest that felt like someone pressing down on me.  My doctor’s office advised me to go to the emergency room, so I did.  After being parked in the waiting room for an hour or so (good thing it wasn’t a heart attack!) they took me back where a frightened looking child tried to get blood from the vein in my hand (in case I needed an IV later).  Eventually the pain from that got so bad I burst into tears and they sent her away.  By the time she came back I had had an EKG which showed my heart was okay, so they sent her away for good.

I began telling the ER doc my recent issues and she too found that spot on my back causing me to jump a foot.  At that time she said, almost under her breath, “it might be fibromyalgia.” Well, of course I had never heard of it so I went back to work and looked it up.  As I began to read the symptoms I was nodding like a bobble head!  And suddenly a lot of things became clear, some of the vague aches and pains.  For quite some time when my husband would squeeze my knee it would hurt a lot even though the pressure was light.  Also, I had noticed on my back right above my hips two spots that felt like bruises for no reason.

So back to my GP I went after reading everything I could find on fibro and asked him if he thought it could be that.  He asked me if I knew what it was, I told him what I had read.  He ran some more tests to rule out Lupus and MS and diagnosed me.  The first med he put me on was amitriptiline for pain.  It did help with the pain right away, but it knocked me out at first.  As for that I worked my way up and am now, 8 years later, on 75 mg at night.  He also gave me hydrocodone for pain which works well for me.  I was on 5/500 for probably 6 years and then went up to 7/750 which is where I am now.  I get 30 pills a month and do pretty well on that. Sometimes I have to take it with Advil to get it all.  Recently we have added Savella, which has been amazing for me.  The fatigue was so bad I could barely function, but this works very well, although I still struggle with fatigue and probably always will.

I currently work 32 hours a week and although some weeks are harder than others I am still maintaining as best as I can.  I love to sing and write and read (and play Mah Jong!) and I teach the youth girls on Wednesday nights at my church.  I am glad to be a part of this blog and look forward to reading and writing some more.”

Tanya L. Garcia

Contributor 

“My name is Tanya L. Garcia, I am 31 years old. I was born and raised here in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am the middle child out of 3.   I enjoy the outdoors a lot; hiking, camping, fishing, going on drives through the mountains of Utah. I also like caving, to where i can go on an adventure within the mountains I love to hike. My hobbies include reading any chance I get, puzzles, all types of crafts, crocheting  knitting, site seeing and my favorite hobby and time well spent is to hangout with my nieces, just us being silly and making faces at each other or just cuddling, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
I have my biggest supporter of all time and that has been my Chihuahua, Emmy aka Emmy Lou. I gotten her about 6 years ago. I have never regretted getting her. She has come to learn when I am in pain truly and gives me that look of, “slow down”, them I do. She has also helped me by giving me something I had to get up and take care of as well being I have no children and I am not married. Emmy is my motivator when I need the extra boost. Pets are amazing to have for any reason. I love my Emmy Lou lots!
My biggest thing I get great joy out of is doing volunteer work in my local area. Currently I volunteer with animals at our biggest animal shelter, The Humane Society of Utah. I get great pleasure from the animals and knowing  that they want what I want, someone with a caring heart and a gentle hand. Its a great feeling to give an animal a second chance to find that one family, who will love them.
Now for my story of how I have gotten to this point, to where I have taken the chance to blog.
I had never even heard of fibromyalgia until I was 18 years old. I was starting to have pain all over and it was getting worse. Just getting out of bed was becoming a night mare. I had been working full time since I was 16 years old. But it was getting harder to even make it to work, I was falling down a lot and I would just cry in dying pain even just getting out of bed. After a year, of undergoing what felt like a million tests and negative tests results, with lots of wondering if this was all in my head like the doctors had been treating me. I finally was getting at my wits end and was going to give up completely and let go of all hope for myself, one afternoon like always I had another doctors appointment that I was going to be treated like I was making my symptoms up; finally my doctor had come in the room and told me, ” I have bad news and good news which would you prefer” … of course, I had told him, ” give me the bad news first”, he had told me, ” well bad news is you have fibromyalgia, good news is your tests came back negative”, of course at this time is was confused being I never heard of it before. After being told what it was and my treatment options plus being told its incurable. I was even more depressed and didn’t know what I could do to over come this new condition I had. At 19, I began doing my own research and my own treatments at home, I made the decision to not let this beat me. I became more active by walking more and changing my diet around.  I was on so many medicines I wasn’t able to keep up what I was trying to do. My doctor had told me there was no other options for me at this time other then what he had been doing.  I had taken it upon myself to find a more caring and understanding doctor. I met with a few doctors before I found the one. Finally, I had gotten a doctor that agreed with me that all the medicine I was on, was only masking my pain and not really helping me. After about 6-7 months of different medicines, we found some that I was able to function on well. I was finally able to work my full time job and get back to being active. I started all of my hobbies again. Although here I am at 31 years of age, I have also been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, tendinitis, carpal tunnel, a inflamed ligament along my spin along within the last year of 2011 to 2012. I know I am able to overcome it all with time and patience. I still do everything I enjoy and learned to live my life to the fullest that I can, but most of all to never give up hope within myself.
This is what I want others to feel within themselves as well. It is a struggle at times still don’t get me wrong but being positive and focus you will be able to accomplish anything. Support of family and friends help a lot but you can only help yourself and keep going strong. Again never give up hope!!!! I look forward to being a part of many positive things to come.”

Tiffany Reuzenaar

Contributor 

“My name is Tiffany Reuzenaar, am 27 (28 next month), and have been treated for fibro for 3 years now.
I was lucky enough to marry my best friend last May. We live in Indiana, and have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a horse. I am a huge Pitbull advocate as one of my dogs is a pittie, and the other is a pittie mix. I love this breed and do all that I can to educate people on this wonderful, and misunderstood breed. My “kids” have been there for me through all my struggles with love and devotion.I started having back, shoulder, and neck pain at 20. I was a vet assistant and all the lifting was a constant source of reinjuring myself. I had to give up my passion after 5 years, I was told by my pain specialist I would be in a wheelchair if I didn’t by 30. After that I was a dental assistant, and that’s when the pain went to full body.I have been through many different specialists, and everyone of them I have heard “your too young for this pain”. Believe me, I know that, and would do anything to change that fact! I went through a mourning period as we all do, missing the life that once was. But I still enjoy taking care of my kids and my horse. I’ve been trying to teach myself animal massage and as I know how much a pair of hands can be so healing for pain. My horse, Princess, is in her mid 20’s and can tell that a good massage makes her feel better! I enjoy various crafting. I also have recently taken up crocheting, which helps keep my mind occupied.

I also do a lot of reading of the different articles about fibro that are out there. The knowledge along with the stories of others greatly help me through my fight with fibro. I believe it’s something you truly have to take one day at a time.”

Diane Sergejenko

Contributor

“I’m a 42 year old mother of 4 (Stephanie, 25, Julie, 21, Alex, 19, and Emily 9), also stepmother to Amanda (17).  I am married to the love of my love, Ernie, who luckily maintains his own Engineering business right from home so he can help me when I need it 🙂 I’ve been suffering with Fibromyalgia since October 2011.  Fibromyalgia has changed my life and I’m currently trying to “become a person again”.  Although I am in constant pain, I have thrown my medication away (it wasn’t working anyway) and am finding other ways of getting rid of or at least lessen the pain (natural rememedies, exercise, diet.)”

Melissa Swanson

Contributor

“Melissa lives with her Husband, Daughter & 3 cats in Northern Wisconsin. In addition to Fibromyalgia, she has 10 of it’s “evil sidekicks” as she likes to call them. She works full time, is a Girl Scout leader, chauffeur for a 12 year old and loves watching her daughter play JO Volleyball. She enjoys her Aqua Zumba & Water gym classes, her online support group, her Facebook page; This is my Life ~ Surviving Fibromyalgia, where she shares her experiences of being a Fibro Warrior~Living Life.

Visit Melissa on Facebook here!

Shannon Odenbach

Contributor

“Shannon is a 36 year old wife and mother. She divides her time among visits with her children, working full-time, exercise, and taking graduate courses towards a masters degree. Her spare time is spent scouring the web for anything and everything in order to understand the world in which she lives. Her areas of interest include mental health disorders, suicide prevention, fibromyalgia and other pain disorders, and raising teenagers. Life became topsy-turvy when Shannon began experiencing difficulty running. Her strong routine of 5K runs five days a week with two days of strength training became too difficult to continue. Easing back did nothing to diminish the pain. After a series of doctor visits and a battery of tests, Fibromyalgia became a permanent part of her life in February 2013.”

Karunya V.

Contributor

“”Hello everyone! I’m Karunya and you can call me by my pen name, Lavender. I’m a Physiotherapist who has certificates in Nutrition, aerobics, spinning, fitness, prenatal and postnatal fitness training. I also have a certificate in classical singing.  I am a very spiritual person and I love my God, family, friends, nature and pets. I also love to read, write, listen to music, sing, paint, origami and lots of other things – my hobby list is so vast, it even includes knitting and cooking! And as I’ve already mentioned, I’ve been introduced to fibro at 21 [Am 26 now ] and have been getting along with it quite well ever since.  We both have our share of conflicts always but what matters is that I’m able to keep my head up and carry on and find a way to get through each obstacle put up by it, with a smile on my face. Well, my strategy of managing fibro is to go the natural and safe way, avoiding the medicines to the maximum extent. Medicines have given me acne, weight gain, oedematic face, hair loss, nerve weakness, vertigo and what not so I’ve had enough, stopped taking them since almost 3 yrs. And trust me, my strategy works quite well! Fibro has changed my perspective towards life. I no longer resent it but have learned to accept it and try my best to manage it. If you have any doubts or you’re down and need to talk to someone or pour your heart out and find ways to manage fibro effectively, you can message me and I can be of help to you both as a Physio and as a friend. I’m excited to be a part of the Fighterzine team and looking forward to share a lot more useful articles n tips and most of all, to be able to make a positive difference.Take care, Stay positive and Keep smiling!”

Paula Fournier
Contributor

“Paula Fournier is a graduate of Madonna University, earning her Bachelor’s of Science Degree. While a student, a producer of the television show Movie Show Plus approached her and asked her to Co-Host the popular show. Paula realized that working in media was the right fit for her. Paula enjoyed her stay at the Emmy Award Winning Television Show for 2 years and served not only as a Co-Host, but also a producer and editor to the show.Paula later Produced the popular, Nationally Syndicated radio show, Animal Talk Radio where she was known to the listeners as “The Digital Queen”, managing all things media as well as reporting on all of the popular animal news stories from around the globe. Paula took her producer role a step further and co-created the television show, Animal Talk TV, with her sister. She also wrote, produced, directed and co-hosted alongside many well-known animal experts in the industry.Paula’s true love is working within the film industry. It started with her first short film, Feeding the Soul, where, alongside three other amazing women, she wrote, produced and starred in her first role. The film won the prestigious “Christopher Coppola’s Filmmaker’s Challenge Award”.Realizing that film was her true passion, Paula then worked as a Production Coordinator in the sports comedy, Tetherball (2010), starring Dustin Diamond and Ron Jeremy. She followed that up with the period piece, set in 1910, Mary’s Buttons (2011). Paula was responsible for hiring, managing and choreographing over 200 extras as well as handling her other job duties as Production Coordinator. Paula moved her job responsibilities to Assistant Director and Producer, working on A Dog for Christmas (2012), starring Dean Cain, Richard Karn and Dustin Diamond. Paula now owns her own Production Company, iHeart Production, LLC and continues to work in film, television and music videos. She has worked as an Associate Producer on the film, Sandcastles: A Story of Family and Tragedy (2012) and Producer of the upcoming film, Holiday Miracle (2013), starring Dean Cain and Christine Lakin.Fibromyalgia became a part (BIG part) of Paula’s life, officially, in 2012. After 15 years of suffering, she finally found her answer! She continues to work in the entertainment industry and has shared her story with everyone she has worked with. As much as she loves her job, she still has ‘bad’ days. Paula also survives with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Arthritis, Nocturnal Partial Seizures and a Super Woman complex – trying to do it all.Paula has added Graduate Student to her laundry list of things to do. (Oh shoot! She forgot to put the laundry on again!) She is pursuing a Masters Degree in Health Psychology and planning to follow that up with her doctorate. She plans to counsel those who deal with the same issues, and more, and help them along their path. (When she’s feeling well).When Paula is not on set, she enjoys spending time with her son, Justin and her daughter, Jordan, her supportive boyfriend, Chris,  reading, writing and watching movies – old and new, sleeping, sleeping and more sleeping. Paula makes her home in Michigan.”Stephanie HenryContributor

“”I will begin with one of my favorite quotes:

“I do not want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me.”
– Jack Nicholson

You are probably thinking, what does that have to do with fibromyalgia??? Well to me, it has everything to do with it. My interpretation of this quote is to not let your “environment” (i.e. life, family, illness), have power over you. I do not let my illness have power over me, nor do I want it to be the only thing I am identified with. I want my world to be a product of what I can do, create, and love.
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis, in 2003, though now my doctors feel I have had it most of my life. Going undiagnosed and misdiagnosed for so many years, is my reason I am so excited to be a contributor to Fighterzine, to help support others, increase awareness and to hopefully encourage more research of chronic pain and illness.
In addition to contributing here, I work full time out of the home, and am beginning to build a side business, Bone and Ink Creations, creating custom jewelry, accessories, jewelry boxes and keepsake boxes, and cattle skull art. I love almost all things creative, it has been very therapeutic for me.
I live in Oklahoma, with my greatest supporter, biggest fan and love of my life, Randy. I have 2 wonderful children and 3 beautiful grandsons along with my other 3 “babies”, our dogs, Angel, Farley and Kobe.”

Lakshmi Rajagopalan

Contributor

“Hey all, My name is Lakshmi, friends call me Laks 🙂 I am 35 years old, married for 11 years, mom to two lovely boys, ages 9.5 and 7. Urban planner and designer, writer/editor, really amateur photographer, wanna-be chef/baker, I am fiercely independent with a rebelling streak, known for my tomboyish traits,…..Love all things organic, casual, comfy & earthy (READ: PJs and t-shirts). Music and Books are an absolute necessity to me survival. I lived with my family in Fremont, CA since 2002 and relocated back to India in 2010. 

 

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2008 (I guess I have had it longer but I am not sure) and the doc suspected extreme emotional stress was the trigger. I was in pain all the time but was still able to manage home/kids/work but since 2012, it has taken a turn for the worse and I recently quit my job as my pain was unbearable. I am trying to “feel like ME again,” while relearning and rediscovering my way to manage my pain to help me lead a peaceful life.

 

I have also learnt to treat myself with compassion, to not be critical of myself, to set small goals, take my life – one task at a time, learn to say NO, Do not compare myself with my PAST self, i.e.: I used to be able to do xyz, now I am unable to etc. and most importantly take lots of rest, when possible.”

Anna Eidt

Contributor

 

“Anna Eidt, a.k.a Brain Storm, is a musician, writer, and high school teacher who loves cats, crafting, and all things miniature. Anna aims to teach through a social justice lens and infuse as much choice, creativity, and room for project-based, student-centered learning in her courses as possible (and has a pretty good time doing it). While dealing with the challenges of chronic pain since the Fall of 2012, Anna has ranted, complained, rejoiced, and blogged about the emotional and logistical struggles of being a migraineur. Having been moderately successful so far in devising her own treatment plan with the help of some very special medical professionals, she is currently planning projects around the need for peer support for chronic painers and their partners and caregivers. Anna is from Halifax, Nova Scotia and currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.”
Sonia Richardson
Contributor

“Hi Yall,

 My name is Sonia Rodriguez . Im originally a yankee from the tri-state areas of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey where I was born. I now reside in Austin, Texas the home of

the “Keep It Weird” motto. I moved here in 2004 with my 3 children who now all range in the ages of 28, 25, and 21. I was a hairstylist when the first signs of fibromyalgia began to show,

but was pushed off as carpal tunnel. Insomnia was called, “ There is just too much on your mind from managing a salon”. Little by little my life began to dwindle away and I was just going with the flow of it. I had loved to hike, do hair, constantly go go go. In 2004 I moved here, and it became apparent my time as hairstylist was coming to a end. Standing for long periods of

time and my arms raised for long periods of time were exhausting. I went through 3 more jobs before being diagnosed by not my general practioner. But a doctor who I would see when

my regular Dr. was booked and I needed to see someone that day. He was an Internist of medicine. He had taken my file which at this point was over a inch thick, I was embarrassed.  I was sore and depressed and tender that day. Tears rolled down my face as he touched the different points on my body. He said Sonia you have Fibromyalgia. And that was in the summer of 2008.  I finally had an answer that I wasn’t crazy or a hypochondriac.  Since then I have become my own advocate for myself in the fight against fibromyalgia. I inform my doctors, I hand them print outs that I find on the subject matter. Not that I am telling them their job, ok I am. I have a severe case so I am very limited in what I am able to do without causing a flare. I

live on a cocktail of meds that seems to get me by. I work with my Psychologist and doctor on these meds. I paint, and create art dolls with clay and mixed media, its an escape for me, I

also like to fix up old things and repurpose them into something new.

I have a motto and it is “Life hands you only what can handle, and it could always be worse.”.

BJ Mallory
Contributor

BJ Mallory lives in Central California with her husband and their dogs. Before Fibromyalgia left her unable to work, she held various positions within her local county government offices. She was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 2008 after experiencing increasingly difficult and painful symptoms for over ten years. She enjoys writing, photography, reading, gardening, crocheting, knitting and cooking. She finds music to be a great help during flares, as well as humor. One of her favorite quotes is, “Time spent laughing is time spent with gods.” During her down times, she also likes to create fan videos on YouTube, and greatly enjoys her quality fangirl time with her daughter, Christina; they are big fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

She hopes to help spread awareness about FMS and other chronic illnesses, believing that our illness is only invisible if we remain silent.