Catie and I became friends on Facebook a year before we actually met in person. We were put in contact by our mutual friend, Candice. In February of 2015, we met at the first St. Petersburg Cupid's Undie Run. When Catie saw me, she ran towards me and gave me the warmest and biggest hug ever. I felt as if she and I had been life long friends. Catie was all smiles and excited to have finally met me, as was I. In the two years of knowing Catie I have learned she is bubbly, sweet, loving and caring. Despite being in pain due to having both NF1 and NF2 she has chosen to enjoy and love her life.
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| Catie and her mom, photo from Catie's Facebook |
Catie said that she has had well over five dozens surgeries and will soon have another to remove some tumors that are causing her discomfort and pain. In October of 2011, Catie and her mom were featured in a segment of HealthyState in which she spoke in vivid detail how she manages living a happy life despite the constant reminder that she is living with an incurable disease.
Catie's first surgery was when she was nine years old to remove a fibroma on her back. Since then she has had tumors removed all over her body both internally and externally. I can attest that surgery is not easy on either your body or your mental state; it takes one strong individual to be able to endure 65 surgeries and counting
, and still be optimistic about life.
I find Catie inspirational because she simply lives her life as she wishes. She welcomes love into her life and grabs onto it with all her strength. It is not always easy getting out of bed each morning because sometimes she is in tremendous pain, still, she gets out of bed and goes on with her day.
" I'm just trying to make life good every day." - Catie
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