Gayle Henning is a 42-year-old mother of two beautiful daughters, ages 8 and 11. She grew up as an only child in a great Christian home with wise parents, many friends, and lots of opportunities...
Unfortunately, she is no longer able to care for her girls, practice her
career of journalism, or even feed herself... At the age of 28, Gayle developed
Multiple Sclerosis. This disease has taken a very heavy toll on her body
and has totally altered her life circumstances.
One day as I was talking to Gayle, she said to me, “I wake up every
day thanking God for the day and that I am alive”. With that upbeat
attitude, given her circumstances, I became really curious about her life
journey. So, I asked her to tell me about it! I hope you are inspired
by her story as much as I have been.
-Doris Carlson
I was an active kid and enjoyed sports and marching band in high school.
I started my post-high school education with a full journalism scholarship
to Central Arizona College. Soon, I was elected Editor of the school newspaper
and even had one of my stories picked up by the AP news wire. My sophomore
year I transferred to NAU where I was the Features Editor of the NAU ‘Lumber
Jack’ student newspaper. One summer, I even went undercover with the
Yavapai County Sheriff’s officers to do a story on illegal drug activity
in Northern Arizona.
After graduation in 1988, I moved back to Tucson and, with encouragement from my dad, went into volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity as an Editor for the ‘Habitat World’ newspaper, in Americus, Georgia. Six months later, I had the opportunity to go on one of Jimmy Carter’s work projects in San Diego as a member of the Habitat press relations team. We reported on the building of 800 homes in Tijuana, MX and 200 homes in San Diego in a one week time period! During that event, I lived in a two person tent in Tijuana, MX… in the dirt!
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Back in Tucson, I went job hunting and ended up teaching beginning journalism and mass communication classes for Pima Community College. During my time at Pima, I was offered a job in Milwaukee, WI as editor of a Christian newspaper… so, I was off on another adventure! After two years in that position, I was offered a job in management and sales to create a Christian Business Directory for greater Milwaukee. I shared an apartment with a gal that had a ministry to inner city kids. It was a fun time in my life. When that project was up and running, I was asked to create directories in Racine and Kenosha, WI; Cedar Rapids, IA; and then back in Green Bay, WI. During this period, I experienced the first signs of MS. The symptoms began with a bout of blurred vision in my right eye… the optometrist called it ‘optic neuritis’. That problem cleared up in about a month. I soon dismissed it from my mind.
In December of 1993, while in Green Bay, I met and started dating my husband, John. I suffered another bout of optic neuritis in the left eye. About the same time, I started dropping things and stumbling. At that point I again went to an optometrist where I was told that I needed to see my primary care doctor. I was then referred to a neurologist and after an MRI, was told that the lesions on my brain indicated that I had MS. Neither I nor my future husband had any idea of the serious implications of the diagnosis…..
The following July, I returned to Arizona to create a Christian Business Directory for Tucson. After our wedding in October of 1994, John and I moved to Ft. Collins, CO where I worked at the CBD headquarters in layout and design. It was there that we had our first daughter, Carissa, in 1996. After Carissa’s birth, I had a serious relapse of MS but I still worked part-time and volunteered for the National MS Society. I was named MS 1996 ‘Volunteer of the Year’ for Ft. Collins.
We decided that we needed to return to Tucson in early 1997. My health prevented me from working and it seemed best to be close to family. In 1999, we had another blessing enter our lives with the arrival of our second daughter, Bethany. By 2004, the disease of MS had worsened to the point that I could no longer walk or care for my daughters. The stress also caused much discord in my marriage. It was then that the girls and I moved back into my parent’s home where I could get the help I needed. In April 2007, as my physical condition continued to decline, it became too difficult for my parents to care for my needs. A decision was made for me to move to a full-time nurse care facility where I still reside today. The girls live with my parents and visit me twice a week.
When I was asked how I dealt with the losses and the changes in my circumstances because of MS, I thought back to the period when I had to give up my home and the daily parenting of my girls. I remember the struggle to let go of the control I had always thought I had…and surrender my future and that of my children to God’s control.
One incident in particular stands out in my mind. When my girls were on a visit with extended family, away from my parent’s care, I found out that they were going to view a movie that I knew was not appropriate for them. As I was sobbing and fretting about that prospect, I called a friend in Wisconsin. As we prayed, she specifically asked God to cause my little daughter, Bethany, to become upset and unwilling to sit through the movie. That is exactly what happened!! They had to leave the show soon after it began! That is when I realized just how little and inadequate I am… and how great and powerful God is! While I can’t know what the future holds, I certainly know Who holds my future and that of my children.
I am also asked how I keep from becoming bitter. The answer is… that I believe that bitterness only worsens any situation. Prayer, God’s Word, great Christian friends, a loving family, and ‘praise and worship’ music keep me centered on God. My life verse is: Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.
© 2008 Good News Tucson™
