Hi friends! My name is Stefanie and I'm from Indiana. Boy mom of three that I also homeschool. I have a loving and supportive husband for the last 19 years and counting. Nineteen years ago, right before I met my husband, I learned I had HSV (Herpes Simplex Virus). It was overwhelming, to say the least. But thankfully, through faith in Jesus Christ and God's grace, He gave me the strength to overcome this challenge. In this blog post, I will share my journey of how I overcame HSV.
When I first found out about having HSV, it felt like a death sentence—the life that I knew abruptly changed in an instant. Since back then there wasn't as much education or awareness around herpes as there is today, it felt like no one could understand what I was going through. Instantly, I spiraled downward and became suicidal and quickly developed a plan of how to end my life. What hope did I have? No one would surely ever want me. My hope of a husband and kids had gone right out the window with the words HSV +. All I could see in the future were endless days filled with pain and embarrassment.
After many weeks of crying myself to sleep at night and feeling ashamed, something shifted inside of me. I turned to Jesus and gave my life to Him. I decided I would start trusting in Him instead of myself. I figured He would make my life better and do a better job with it than what I had. He did. The love and acceptance/forgiveness that I felt from Jesus took away my hopelessness. Afterwards I started sharing my diagnosis with the ones closest to me. A month later I met my husband and we have been together ever since.
Even though having HSV is something that can never truly be “cured” , I have
managed to learn how to treat and prevent outbreaks naturally. I have also learned these past two decades that I could still live my best life possible!
In conclusion, although having a chronic illness such as HSV can be hard emotionally and physically - especially when trying to navigate through societal stigmas - it's important to remember that nobody should ever feel ashamed of their diagnosis nor should they ever feel isolated due to their condition because they aren't alone in this journey either! It's also important not to forget that God is always there offering His strength during our weakest moments if we just take time out of our day to talk Him through our struggles regardless of how big or small they may be. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read about my story today! Have a blessed day everyone!
