Dani – Staying #SAGERSTRONG
My name is Dani Helgeson and I am 49 years old. I was born and raised in Atlanta Georgia. I grew up in Chimney Springs in East Cobb GA. I currently live in Chimney Springs with my husband, two boys and two Golden Retrievers, Talulah Lee and Delilah Rose. I grew up riding horses, gymnastics and had the most amazing friend group who I still consider my closest friends and family. We are now raising our children together.
I was diagnosed May 27,2021 and had a Bone Marrow Transplant September 30, 2021. After my husband and I got over the initial shock of the news, we decided to tackle the disease the same way that we tackle everything else. I always say that “if this is the worst thing that happens to us today, we are good!” My husband immediately said that to me. When we told our boys we told them this wouldn’t be a Poor Mommy or a Poor Us situation. We were only going to take away the positive things, how close our family became, how close our friends are. I learned who was important in our lives and who isn’t. I learned that blood is NOT always thicker than water in that, even if someone is family by birth or by marriage that doesn’t mean they will show up for you. In a strange way I am very thankful for the journey, it strengthened my marriage, made me a better mother and friend. I had two rounds of chemo and was Emory Hospital for 6 weeks. I was home for about 6 weeks and went back to Emory to have my Bone Marrow Transplant. We had a 10 out of 10 match from a 28-year-old in Germany. Between hospital visits we buried our God Son. I am so thankful that I was able to be there for our best friends
My biggest accomplishments are my two boys! They are 17 and 14 and all boy! I love watching them play football and lacrosse and am completely amazed by them daily. I am very proud of my marriage; Mike and I have been through some rough times, but we never gave up on each other. I never finished college and that is something I regret. I am a certified yoga instructor as of 2016, and have taken several classes for children’s yoga, and yoga for special needs children. I teach at the MDE school, a not-for-profit, private school established in 2009 as a full-service k-12 educational center for students with language-based learning disabilities in East Cobb every week, and that is my passion!
My advise for someone going through this fight is to NEVER GIVE UP and go directly to Emory!! I believe that the fact that I knew this wasn’t going to break me helped me. I just didn’t even think about what could happen. I only focused on what would happen.
My goals for the future are to literally enjoy every day. I try and make a difference in someone’s life every day. I have thought about doing a couple things to give back at Emory. I would love to get my dogs certified and be able to visit cancer patients. I feel like I have a ton of ideas so we will see where the next chapter of my journey takes me! I have been so blessed and I am honored that I have been asked to fill this out! I would love if at least one person who reads this I was able to help!
#TEAMDANI #OurWhy — what is YOUR why?
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