Monthly Archives: December 2014

The Comeback Girl- 21 Years in the Making

Posted on by Standard 4

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” -Mark Twain

2014 has taught me more about myself than I ever would have thought possible. This year I learned how to fight harder than I ever have before. Because of my acquired fighting skills, I reached my twenty-first birthday. After the year I’ve had, it felt like my 21st birthday would never get here! This year has not been easy. In just 365 days I have endured multiple surgeries, spent months in the ICU, learned how to walk with leg braces, I’ve been through four different central lines, I became one of the first patients in the country to be placed on a constant IV Benadryl pump, went through four different types of feeding tubes, added another diagnosis to the list and became the comeback girl.

I’ve always been vocal about the fact that I believe I was chosen to fight these monster illnesses for a reason. In this day and age, there are hundreds of crippling illnesses that need better treatments and the only way to spread awareness is to talk about them. Embarrassing or not, who is going to raise awareness for my disease if I don’t do it myself? The best decision I made in 2014 was starting Brynn’s Bubble. I had no idea how much I would gain from opening up about my invisible illnesses. After my story was shared on the Huffington Post, I began receiving emails from complete strangers who told me that by speaking out about Mast Cell Disease I saved their lives. I was contacted by mothers who told me that if they had not stumbled upon my story, their children likely would have gone untreated for another ten years just as I did. Other individuals thanked me for helping them find the cause behind deadly allergic reactions. Knowing that my voice has helped others is the most rewarding feeling in the world and it makes all of my struggles over the years worth it. I have no idea how to even begin to thank all of you for the overwhelming amount of support that you’ve given me.

Sometimes we are handed situations that seem impossible to overcome. Life is unpredictable and we never know what will happen from one day to another, but I can promise you that it gets better one way or another. I never imagined that I would be able to make a comeback. At the beginning of 2014 I couldn’t even stand without assistance from a walker or leg braces- Today I can walk up the stairs without thinking twice about it. I’ve attended various concerts over the past few months and was able to dance the night away at each one. (Of course I had to pay for it the next day, but IT WAS WORTH IT!) Thanks to IVIG treatments, I am now able to eat foods that once caused Anaphylaxis. I’m not anywhere close to being cured, but I am so much better than I have been in the past. To anyone out there who may be struggling- Never lose hope. Don’t give up on yourself. Allow yourself to keep striving for the things you wish to accomplish and don’t lose sight of them. Life may be confusing now, but one day it will all make sense.

I’m going to make 2015 my year. I will attempt things that I’ve always wanted to try. I refuse to let these illnesses control me any more than they already have. I will keep working hard so that I can finally get my high school diploma. I will face my biggest fears. Maybe this will be the year that I finally get to meet Ellen DeGeneres and see a taping of her show. Maybe this will be the year of medical breakthroughs. I don’t know what my 21st year of life has in store for me, but I am determined to fight harder than ever to make sure that it is the best year yet. Mast Cell Disease, Dysautonomia/POTS, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, & Gastroparesis- watch out because Brynn Duncan is making a comeback.

Rolling with the Punches

Posted on by Standard Reply

“It ain’t about how hard you hit: it’s about how hard you can get hit. And keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take. And keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.” -Rocky Balboa

Life is about learning to roll with the punches. When I was nine years old, my sister and I enrolled at a TaeKwonDo Academy. At the beginning of each class, we would bow in and recite the tenets of TaeKwonDo; Honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, community, strength, humility, and knowledge. In my first week of training we learned about perseverance and talked about setting goals. Most importantly, we learned that perseverance would be the key to achieving any goal that we wished to accomplish. Many of the white belts in my class set a goal to break their first board or just wished to pass the first testing to get their yellow belts. The very first goal that I made in TaeKwonDo was to one day become a 3rd degree black belt- the same rank as my instructor.

At age eleven, I became the first black belt in the Duncan family. I will never forget seeing my belt for the first time. There is no better feeling than running your fingers over the belt with your name embroidered in gold thread; vindication that I could be a successful female martial artist after so many kids told me that I wasn’t good enough.

About seven years into my training, I became seriously ill. As time passed, my health continued to spiral out of control. It was very difficult for me to attend school, much less TaeKwonDo. I was ranked as a 2nd degree black belt and couldn’t bear to think about losing reach of a goal that I set when I was nine years old, so I fought. Eight years into my training, at the age of seventeen, I passed the rigorous testing and earned the rank of 3rd degree black belt. I reached the goal that changed my life forever.

The lessons that I learned in my eight years of martial arts training made a bigger impact on my life than any of the lessons that I was taught at public school. Had I not been involved in TaeKwonDo, I honestly don’t know how I would have made it this far in life while being haunted by a chronic illness. TaeKwonDo taught me so much more than how to fight off an attacker; it taught me how to live. I earned my black belt by living by the tenets of TaeKwonDo. In all reality, being a black belt is nothing more than a state of mind.

For ten years now, I have had a poem by Master Karen Eden plastered on my wall as a constant reminder to myself that I am not (nor will I ever be) the average woman. I am a martial artist.

“I Am a Martial Artist”

I am a martial artist.

I see through different eyes.

I see a bigger picture

when others see grey skies.

Though many can’t conceive it,

I stand… facing the wind.

My bravery, not from fighting,

but from my strength within.

I am a martial artist.

I’ll walk the extra mile.

Not because I have to,

but because it is worth my while.

I know that I am different,

when I stand on a crowded street.

I know the fullness of winning,

I’ve tasted the cup of defeat.

I am a martial artist.

They say I walk with ease.

Though trained for bodily harm,

my intentions are for peace.

The world may come and go,

but a different path I’ll choose.

A path I will not stray from,

no matter win or lose.

-Karen Eden

Master Eden’s words still describe my life now just as much as they did before I had to stop actively training in TaeKwonDo. I strongly believe that this is because my martial arts training shaped me into the person I am today. I will be forever grateful to each and every instructor who has taught me along the way. Because of you, I have learned how to roll with the punches that life throws at me.