Lisa's Reason for Walking

Lisa e-mailed us today to tell us that she'll be walking on Saturday. Here's what she had to say:

My Name is Lisa. I’m participating in the NAMI 2014 walk in Salt Lake City UT. I’m doing this walk in honor of myself. I have Bipolar. I take a mood stabilizer everyday to help me with the highs and lows of this disorder. It’s amazing just how much of my life Bipolar effects. I’m still the amazing woman I've always been. A caring mother, sister, daughter and friend. But I have my manic days and I have my depressed days. Some days I want to be everywhere doing everything and some days I want to sit alone in my room all day. I do talk speak publicly about Bipolar. I’m not ashamed to have this disorder. Why should we be? If anything we are true warriors of hope and life and love. To live each day sometimes not knowing when the feeling ….the high or the low is going to come back because you know it always does. I always do my best to keep a positive attitude about my disorder. I take great pride in being able to participate in somethi
ng as big as reaching out and helping others that live/suffer from a mental illness.

Join us this Saturday for the NAMIWalk! Registration is free: www.namiwalks.org/utah

See You Later

Good-byes seem so finite. So we're saying "See you later" to our dear friend, NAMI advocate, amazing mother, incredible co-worker and the sunshine in our lives.

Sarah Gilbertson has been working at NAMI Utah for the past 3 years now and she has brought so much joy and happiness to our office. Her jovial voice can be heard across the hall and her laughter can be heard across the street! We had a little "See You Later" party for her the other day and we all went around the room sharing memories of Sarah. It probably sounded like a circus in that boardroom from all the laughing and then subsequent crying.

Sarah is amazing, if you don't know her she has conducted our Provider Education training, click HERE for more details, and coordinated all of our Teacher and Facilitator trainings. She has built incredible relationships with community partners, providers, panelists and so many others who hold a special place for her in their hearts.

While Sarah is so upbeat, positive and always smiling, she and her beautiful children have been dealing with their own struggles with mental illness. You can read her story, in her own words, on her blog HERE.She is leaving NAMI to take care of her beautiful children full-time.

Even when her days start out rough with her kids, she comes around to everyone's office, offering them a hello or if they're lucky, like me, a hug. She is the epitome of a NAMI advocate and we have been so blessed by her presence here.

Luckily for us, she will remain a huge part of our lives here at NAMI and has even decided to help with the NAMIWalk this year. We couldn't be more grateful for her dedication to this cause! 

When I think of Sarah, I think of this quote to the left from Story People. It says, "Anyone can slay a dragon, he told me, but try waking up every morning and loving the world all over again. That's what takes a real hero." Sarah is our real hero. She wakes up every morning and loves the world all over again! And we love her right back! 

So Sarah, we aren't saying good-bye, no way! We are simply saying, "See you later!"