You think you’re having a bad day? Cindy Moore can relate. She is not only dealing with an illness with no cure, her time is spent dealing with a myriad of medical procedures, such as treatment for pain, intestinal problems and consistent nausea. Due to Cindy’s medical conditions, she’s not able to eat anything and is fed through total parenteral nutrition (TPN) using an IV each night.

“This past week, I had another procedure. It’s another bag and dressing that I need to deal with. I was also told by my palliative care doctor that I need to carry around a pump with me 24-7 to help with the pain.

“It hit me as a nurse was putting on the pump. She asked me, ‘How does it feel to look at this and know it’s going to be attached to you for the rest of your life?’ Strong words to hear. I went to bed, blown away with how much my life has changed in such little time.

“To top it off,” she continues, “I was told by my insurance company that I’m never allowed to go back to work: my illness is too severe and complex. My job was amazing and the people there were extremely supportive. I will miss them a ton!”

But instead of wallowing in pity, Cindy goes on to say, “I do believe in miracles. And although I have bad days every now and then, I will continue to keep the faith and turn my eyes to the only One who knows what tomorrow brings.”

Counting Her Blessings
“Four years ago,” Cindy says, “I could eat anything, I was able to work and enjoy my job at North York General Hospital’s ICU. I was healthy.” 

But after a series of health concerns drove her weight down to 80 pounds, she was finally diagnosed with visceral myopathy, a rare pathological condition characterized by impaired intestinal function and motility. It affects the smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract and sometimes the urinary tract and has already resulted in the removal of her colon.

She has a support team of 14 doctors as well as family and members of her church. In the evenings, friends keep her company until a nurse hooks up her last IV of the day, then they walk Spencer, Cindy’s little dog and her faithful companion.

“It’s crazy to get your head around,” Cindy says. “It’s a 24-hour job keeping up with my health, all my dressing changes, medications and communication with 14 doctors.

“I’m positive considering everything that’s going on because I can’t just focus on the negative. It’s not going to do me any good, physically or emotionally, so I just try to count my blessings.”

Cindy gets a visit from her therapy dog, Spencer, at North York General Hospital

Living in the Moment
“I’ve been a Christian my whole life, and a Salvation Army member for most of that,” Cindy says.

“When my brother, Rob, was five years old,” she explains, “he saw the yellow school bus going by for Sunday school at Agincourt Temple Community Church in Toronto. He wanted to go on the bus—so that’s how I started going to church!”

Cindy now attends The Salvation Army’s Oshawa Temple in Ontario.

“I know I have people who are interceding for me in prayer, when I’m too exhausted to pray myself.”

But they can only do so much.

“God’s been carrying me through,” Cindy says. “I can’t predict what tomorrow brings, so I’m just taking it day by day. I have to live in the moment.”

A Difficult Journey
While there is no cure for visceral myopathy, the one hope for Cindy might be a multi-organ transplant. Ironically, her liver would have to fail for her to get on a transplant list, but if she did, she’d receive a large colon, small intestine, stomach, pancreas and perhaps a spleen.

“Sometimes I feel bad when people ask about my story,” Cindy says. “It’s not a story with a miracle in the end, or a story about healing.

“My story is about a God that is carrying me along a very difficult road. The rest of my journey is up to Him. It might end up with a miracle, or it might not.

“I’ve always had a deep faith but it took something like this for me to realize the power of God’s love. Nothing can help me like my faith in God, and the love that He has for me. That’s really what’s been carrying me through. It’s really indescribable.

“I’m not worried about what tomorrow may bring. God has me in the palm of His hand.”