ZU Magazine is a publication of ZU Media. Below is an article from Issue 4, “Character.”

Staff Writer | Jourdan Jefferson

A 13-year-old is experiencing indescribable pain. After countless doctor visits, her issues remain undiagnosed. Some years pass, and the doctors don’t believe that she’s in pain and tell her it’s all in her head.

Instead of looking forward to high school, Heather Turner, senior social work major at Azusa Pacific, was searching for the source of her pain. For six years of her life, this is what she endured.

At age 19, Turner was informally diagnosed, while studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, with a chronic illness known as Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and tenderness in localized areas.

“It was relieving getting diagnosed because I thought everything was wrong with me, but it was all stemming from one thing,” Turner said. A year later, she was also diagnosed with innercitualtistis, an autoimmune bladder disease.

Invisible illnesses come in many disguises. You may have seen someone park in a handicap spot and appear perfectly healthy as they step out of their car. Some might think, “Nothing is wrong with that person, they’re walking perfectly fine.” What people often forget is illness does not only come in a physical form.

According to disabled-world.com, “It is estimated that 10% of people in the U.S. have a medical condition which could be considered a type of invisible disability.”

Overcoming a chronic illness is an everyday challenge. According to Mental Health America, many Americans don’t receive care for their illnesses.

The nonprofit said, “56% of American adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment. Even in Maine, the state with the best access, 41.4% of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment.”

The diseases create hardships for both the individual and their family.

Being diagnosed so young really showed me how much an illness affects an entire family. It changed our routines, our family vacations and my mom now had to spend a lot of her time taking me to appointments,” APU graduate student Kaylin Morford said.

Morford was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of seven and has been living with this disease for 16 years.

Like Turner’s story, Morford’s pediatricians struggled to diagnose her. She was later taken to a specialist, pediatric gastroenterologist Dr. Mel Heyman, who she claims saved her life.

Turner and Morford are the co-founders of STRONG, a club devoted to those experiencing chronic pain and illness. Both decided to make a change for those living in silence.

My story is crafted by a God who doesn’t make mistakes and uses my diagnosis to bring him honor and glory. I would not be here, an APU alumni and current university staff member, if it weren’t for the strength he has given me and the wonderful people he has placed in my life to support me along the way,” Morford said.

According to their mission statement, STRONG exists “to support and empower members and advocate for better resources on campus.”

“We wanted to create a space for empowerment, love and especially a place that can be a source of strength to others, hence the name STRONG,” Morford said.

STRONG has seen the change in confidence within their members. It is not only current students who attend these meetings; alumni continue to come back and be a helping hand for others.

“My goal is to be a voice for the voiceless and help people feel understood,” Turner said.

For those who are interested in attending a meeting, STRONG meets every Monday night at 7 p.m. in University Village, E77. For further questions contact STRONG at strong@apu.edu.