About Nicole
UNDIAGNOSED & RARE DISEASE
Approximately 30 million Americans live with undiagnosed diseases. Nicole is one of them. She lives with an undiagnosed bleeding disorder that affects her lungs. In 2018, her lungs bled so much that it almost took her life. At any time, that could happen again. Nicole chooses to live life with hope and joy. Her lungs limit her physical abilities but they don’t stop her from loving her friends and family deeply, worshipping her Savior freely, or sharing the hope she finds in her health struggles. “The hard is what makes it great.” Corny but true.
(Watch Nicole share the story of her lungs in the interview below.)
Spinal Cord Injury
In 2021, a very rare complication in a medical procedure caused a spinal cord injury (SCI) leaving Nicole permanently disabled. Interestingly, a medical procedure complication is the least common cause of spinal cord injuries (4%) with automobile crashes the most likely (32%). “Least likely”… “most rare”… these are phrases Nicole hears often from medical professionals.
Nicole’s injury is called an Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury, which means, she was paralyzed at the start but has recovered some nerve function. By God’s grace and with a lot of work at the gym she can now walk with the aid of a leg brace, a cane, and a sturdy friend. Nicole truly is a walking miracle.
Nicole’s SCI is the next thing God is using for his glory and her good. It is creating in her a deeper dependence on him.
Bible Study
Nicole believes we learn to trust God when He brings us to places where we have to trust God. But first, you have to know who you are trusting. Who is God?
The best way to answer that question is to read the Bible where God reveals himself to us. Nicole has been learning the character of God through studying the Bible nearly her entire life. Her favorite way to study is with Bible Study Fellowship and through the Homiletics method of studying.
Nicole has been in BSF for 30 years. BSF is where she learned Homiletics. She has gone on to teach Homiletics to adults and children. On the blog, you’ll find tools to study the Bible in different ways, especially using Homiletics.
HOPE IS NEVER INAPPROPRIATE
Here, you will learn:
You are never alone. Jesus loves you and is with you.
God’s sovereignty is the key to accepting your circumstances and even flourishing in them.
We were created to endure within community.
God is still at work. This hard season is not the end of your story.
Hope is never inappropriate. Never!
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AFO’s require wearing shoes 1-2 sizes bigger than your foot and often require the removal of the insole. On top of that, a person wearing an AFO should be in a shoe with ample support for the whole foot, a backstrap or heel cup so the shoe stays on, and a sole that makes firm contact with the ground but without too much tread (which could be a tripping hazard).
After two years of searching, I have found a few options worth noting. For my fellow shoe-lovers with limits, I’ve listed 5 options that meet my requirements for shoes I can wear with an AFO.