To The Medium Writer Who Inspired Me The Most
By: Marta Brzosko
Tags: Writing, Helping Others, Fundraising, Medium, Inspiration

To The Medium Writer Who Inspired Me The Most

Photo courtesy of Shannon Ashley.

Medium is a platform designed to encourage community.

Nowhere on the Internet have I seen it to this extent. Even though Medium is a huge place, people are very connected. There’s mutual learning, exchange of ideas, getting inspired by each other’s work… And these are not just empty slogans.

I’ve personally witnessed and experienced all those things via this platform. I made friends. I had conversations full of care, encouragement, and understanding with people I met through Medium.

Within this community, there's one person whose vulnerable sharing inspired me in a special way. This person is Shannon Ashley.

There were times in my journey when the “who do you think you are?” voice was really persistent. I questioned whether I was qualified to write at all since I was such a mess. These were the moments I wanted to give up — not just on writing, but also on myself.

That’s when Shannon’s voice was a liferaft.

Reading about her struggles — her mental and physical health issues, religious and childhood abuse, chasing her writing dreams while raising her daughter alone, being up against the fat-shaming culture, and much more — always put my own problems in perspective. With each story I read, I understood that living a meaningful life was never supposed to be about perfection.

Rather, it’s about being honest — with others, but first of all, with yourself. It's about soberly assessing your resources right now, and then doing the best you can with them.

And, trying to love yourself for who you are already.

Shannon, you were an inspiration and source of hope to me more times than I could count. You helped me in ways I didn’t know where possible just by reading someone’s words online.

I know that Shannon helped a lot of people in many ways. She voiced our collective concerns, fears, and anxieties when no one else was willing to. She held space for topics that few people would be brave enough to discuss.

Now, she needs help to fund her lipedema surgery. Lipedema is an under-recognized disease of which the main symptom is an irregular distribution of painful fat and swelling in the legs, hips, and butt. Note: This isn’t the same as being overweight. The cure isn’t diet and exercise.

In Shannon’s case, it’s her legs that suffered most. And in the last year, it’s gotten worse to the point that she’s now struggling with everyday chores, work, and taking care of her daughter.

I’ll let Shannon speak for herself:

“My lipedema keeps progressing, and I am miserable. It zaps my energy, and my life keeps shrinking. I do less and less, but hardly know how to talk about it. I can’t keep up with my housework, and do myself a great disservice by not admitting to myself (and others) that lipedema is ruining my life. I haven’t been honest about the extent of my pain over the past 16 months or so. My calves hurt constantly. There are sharp, stabbing pains, and dull but heavy, achey ones. The skin often feels sunburnt or painfully cold. The cold sensation is tingly and interrupts my sleep. Hypothermia of the skin is another lipedema symptom. My sleep is suffering because my calves are much more tender than they used to be. My calves are now 31 inches around, and much of that skin is hard, extra sensitive to pressure, and in certain spots, scaly.”

The way out for Shannon is lipedema surgery which gives very good, lasting results when done well. The problem is, to cover the expenses, she needs $60,000. Like most of us, she doesn't have this kind of money in her bank account.

This is a request to support Shannon’s fundraising campaign and help her pay for the surgery. She helped so many of us by talking about the issues that would otherwise be treated with an awkward silence at best. Let’s return the favor and help her this time.

You can donate to Shannon’s campaign for the surgery below. Also, please share it with others. Feel free to copy-paste and/or reproduce this post in any way you see fit, including in social media posts, a Medium story, your newsletter, or any other place.

Here’s the link to the campaign:

Let’s see if the Medium community can join forces and help one of its best and most honest writers.