Embedded Files
Hi, I'm Kerri. I started this journey a few years ago when I was diagnosed with osteomalacia and could no longer handle physically working in a classroom full of students. I had been a teacher for 29 years, and it was quite the transition for me, but I had slowly lost my ability to walk without an assisting device, and had suffered numerous fractures for no apparent reason, and I had generalized bone and muscle pain and weakness. I loved my students and the career path I was on, serving as the lead GT specialist in my school district, and I tried for a few years to work through the pain...until I couldn't.
After years of no answers, my primary doctor referred me to Dr. Mair, an endocrinologist in Fort Worth. After studying my labs, examining me, talking to me, and really digging into my case, he diagnosed me with TIO (Tumor induced osteomalacia, a very rare disease which is why it was so difficult to figure out after seeing so many doctors. (I don't fault any of my doctors. They never gave up even though I was such a puzzle!) Dr. Mair then referred me to MD Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston to have them find and remove the tumor. Through specialized testing, they found it in my brain. No one expected it to be in that location!
I had the tumor surgically removed in June of 2025 and have had a new lease on life ever since! I am still recovering, not from the surgery, but from years of my bones crumbling and my muscles failing. I am getting back to myself and am able to physically accomplish things I though I had lost forever. Praise God!!Â
I don't think I will ever be able to work in a classroom again. I can't meet the physical demands, and there are many (iykyk). But I am stronger than I was and stronger than I thought I would ever be again. I shake my head in awe sometimes because I truly am a walking miracle.
I will be forever grateful to Dr. Kenneth Mair in Fort Worth, TX for refusing to give up until he had cracked the case! God used him in a mighty way and I am forever grateful to him. He saved, if not my life, my quality of life for sure.
As mentioned above, I was a teacher for 29 years. Now I am working as a spiritual content creator, a calling I am more than happy to answer. I have always had a desire to share my faith and encourage others through the written word, but when I was teaching full time and raising a family, I never was able to make the time. Now that I am no longer teaching, I am so excited to share this journey with you! I hope you find meaning and meet God here often in this faithful space. That is my desire.
Greg Owens is my husband of 34 years whom I love to the moon and back. He has walked through the "better and worse" with me for sure, and has always been my biggest cheerleader and supporter. He has been my rock as I have gone through these medical trials the past several years. Life with me was not what he expected, I am sure, but he has never once complained. He has only loved me and carried me.
My 2 daughters, Allison and Averie, are now adults. I am so proud of the yourng women they have become. They are each pursuing their dreams and navigating the world with grace, kindness, and a love for Jesus that makes my heart glad.
I am definitely among those most greatly blessed. I thank God daily for the life he has given me and the people he has placed in it!
Blessings,
Kerri
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse