Military Special Needs Network
Proudly Supporting all Military Families with a Special Needs Dependent
Military Spouse of the Day: Staci Nevell
Introducing Staci Nevell, married for 13 years to her Air Force spouse, and currently stationed at Hurlburt. Her favorite part of being a military spouse is the friendships she has made over the years. She says, “With family normally hundreds of miles away my military family has vital to my life. The support they have given to me has helped me to stay positive through my years of military life and most importantly my years since being diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis.”
Staci struggled with a ‘bad back’ for over 20 years. It wasn’t until her pain was unbearable when she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis. RA is an autoimmune disease that affects not only your joints but your body as a whole. It can cause extreme fatigue, and flare ups that can lay you up for days. They do have meds to “treat” RA, but they do not have a cure and the meds cause a compromised immune system which can cause other illnesses to creep in. She has endured a fusion of her lower back recently. The physicians added cadaver bone and hardware in her spine to make it more stable. Recovery has been very difficult due to her having to come off of all her RA meds (because of immunity issues). But Staci has faith that this will open up a life she has missed out on. She says she hopes the surgery will allow her to play with her boys and become more active in her own life while only having to deal with the RA.
Staci’s advice to those newly dealing with diagnosis for themselves or a loved one is to remember to always live life to the fullest! “Some days that will be getting a shower and feeding the kids dinner, some days that will be going canoeing with family and having a picnic. Every day is a new day so do your best, but your best will be different each day. Treat yourself with the love and kindness you treat others with!”
The Military Special Needs Network honors and salutes Staci Nevell as the Military Spouse of the Day! We thank you for being such a wonderful military spouse and advocate.
Military Special Needs Network 