Meet Rosalyn Wagler, our Mom of the month (or rather auntie of the month). She is not married but is like a second mom to all her 16 nieces and nephews ranging from ages 16 to 8 months. All of them love coffee, down to the tiniest little toddler that tries to pull on her Mommy’s cup when she’s enjoying her morning coffee.  

 Rosalyn’s personal testimony:  

“After being diagnosed in 2015 with a Chronic pain condition known as CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome) that has no known cure, along with being in a wheelchair and on crutches for 8 years, there is no way I can deny the power of God as I look back over it all. I was told I will likely never walk again due to the bones in my leg being so thin from not being used for 8 years. 

Four of those years were spent in bed doing nothing, and going nowhere except to doctors’ appointments. I have two implanted stimulators (spinal cord stimulator and DRG stimulator) that help to control the pain levels along with meds. One was implanted in 2016 and the other in 2019. 

In 2020, one of the implants was causing some issues so they went to surgically replace one of the leads on it. During that surgery they accidentally caused a spinal fluid leak. I then woke up with severe head pain and nobody could figure out why. They did several procedures and got the leak sealed, but the head pain was still there. 

Finally, I was told I need to get over it because there is nothing wrong. But my head hurt so badly that I couldn’t function. I prayed for God to help because I couldn’t do this on my own. I joined some Facebook groups for CSF leaks, started asking questions and a few people gave me their story saying they had lingering head pain and were diagnosed with neuralgia (severe nerve pain in the face and neck). Due to the low spinal fluid in the brain at the time of the leak they believe that it may have pinched some nerves. 

I talked to my doctor a few days later at my scheduled appointment, and asked if it could possibly be that and he agreed that my symptoms were similar, but he’d never seen a CSF leak cause this. He would have ordered an MRI at that point, but with my implants MRIs are not allowed due to the high likelihood of causing damage to the implants. 

We started treating it as neuralgia anyway, and it finally did help lessen the pain slightly. Because of the improvement, I was diagnosed with occipital and trigeminal neuralgia. As a result, I live with constant head pain and leg pain, both of which have no known cure. 

I never envisioned myself being unable to walk the rest of my life, and eventually I saw that if I didn’t start pushing myself and doing all I can to get back on my feet in spite of the pain, I would likely be stuck for life. So I started asking my doctor how I could get my bones to thicken so I could walk again. 

 He informed me that using them is the only thing that would do that, but that we were already past that point because the chances of crushing that bone were likely too high by now. 

 I finally decided I had nothing to lose, and simply put tiny bits of weight on it while still using both crutches. In time, I added more and more weight until I was down to one crutch, then I eventually took a few steps without it. 

 It hurt a lot! But somehow God strengthened that bone enough to hold my weight when medically it shouldn’t have been able to. I still have to be super careful because the bone is really thin and has not thickened much with use like we thought it might.

The pain is there. Just as much or more than before, but had it not been for the hand of God somehow performing a miracle, I am convinced I wouldn’t be walking today.”

Rosalyn’s favorite Bible verse is in Psalm 46:10. “Be still and know that I am God.” She also loves  the verse in Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds thru Christ Jesus.” 

She reflects that in the midst of this busy world and all its craziness, there is that one place we can always go to, to find peace, rest, and solitude. There is so much peace in knowing that there is nothing in our lives that comes to us outside of his will.  Rosalyn has learned that with the ups and downs of chronic pain, bringing Jesus into her everyday life is must. Simply including Him and talking to Him throughout the day has helped her so much as she sits with Him or tells Him everything on her heart. 

Some of her favorite things to do include cooking, baking, and making lattes on their Breville espresso machine. She is slowly perfecting the craft of latte art and loves to make coffee drinks for her nieces and nephews. 

Rosalyn’s Dad and brothers own a sawmill and have been doing that for most of their lives. One thing their family has had to navigate lately is her mom’s diagnosis with dementia. At the age of 66, she has had vascular dementia for several years now, and hasn’t been able to talk at all for the past year. But for now, they care for her and love on her while they still have her and cherish the moments. And always, even in the difficult diagnosis’s and health journeys, God is ever faithful.

 If you would like to follow along on Rosalyn’s journey through life with a chronic illness, cooking, baking, home decor, family, friends, as well as an occasional good deal for those of you who enjoy shopping, you can find her on Instagram here