Today we’d like to introduce you to Shandy Shafer.
Hi Shandy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Two weeks after my 18th birthday I was diagnosed w/ an incurable and debilitating autoimmune disease called Multiple Sclerosis. Come to find out I had a misdiagnosis of bells palsy when half my face went paralyzed over the summer at the age of 12. Doctors now say it was the first symptoms of MS. I have what they call Adolescent MS.
Now being 34 and having struggled w/ this disease for over half my life I am proud to say that now I choose to be an advocate for the MS community and help out those newly diagnosed.
I have a dear friend of mine Monica Diaz who is around the same age as myself and was only diagnosed 7 months ago. I am grateful to be able to help others seeing as how I was only 18 when diagnosed and had no one to help guide me.
I take pride in being an Advocate for NOT only MS but for Medical Marijuana. I truly believe it is the best medicine out there for the disabled community.
Other than advocacy I am a Published Artist(painter), Designer, Model, Influencer, Brand Ambassador, Digital Creator, Live Stream Host, and Notary Public.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been an up and downhill battle MOST my life, BUT I choose for those struggles to transform me into a stronger, better, and more compassionate woman. I use my struggles to teach me valuable lessons that in return allow me to grow and advance in my everyday life.
For example, in 2014 my grandfather Bailey Shafer who raised me suddenly passed away. The trauma and stress of it all caused my MS to relapse which caused me to lose the use of my legs and I was wheelchair-bound for a short stint of time.
I was in an extremely dark place and having been born with mental health issues did not help the case. So, I needed to find a healthy way to let out ALL the emotions I was feeling and it is at this very moment that I had discovered not only my ability to paint BUT my LOVE and PASSION for it.
I can honestly say it is one of the BEST therapies out there for me.
Sadly, flash forward to the end of 2018 and that passion was abruptly snuffed out when my husband Robert Denton, and I experienced a miscarriage of our Angel Baby Harper Lynn Denton.
This was an unplanned pregnancy and I was on an oral medication for my MS at the time we conceived. The statistics of the survival of the baby were slim to none but we were hopeful we would have our miracle baby.
Unfortunately, this was not the case and I had to spend New Year’s 2019 delivering our stillborn. This broke my husband and I. Not only did I end up experiencing Post Pardon but also a stage of Psychosis which ended with me in a mental institution for a weekend.
My heart and brain were broken.
It was during this traumatic time that I had made the difficult decision to go on a 3 1/2-year sabbatical for my painting business.
Thankfully that difficult time is over with and I am very happy and pleased to be back at painting and creating again. I even opened back up my commission work.
Let me tell you that being back creating again is like a breath of fresh air and I NEVER plan on stopping again.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As you know I am a self-taught Artist BUT I am also a Designer/ Digital Creator/Model/ Brand Ambassador(for MULTIPLE brands) &Influencer.
I design for a company named VIDA and a portion of ALL the proceeds go to charity.
I went a step further and created my OWN brand Goodolshandy and I have designer lighters which I have sold to local smoke shops, stickers, and high-quality designer hats displaying my logo.
I see my brand growing over the next few years and that thrills me.
I am an Artist that takes commissions on a regular basis.
ALSO I have SEVEREAL Outstanding brands under my belt…such as: SHEIN/ Karma Collective/ Lucky Thirteen’s/ QUALUXE/ Mellow(cosmetics)/ TwistedGorilla/ and Habana Heights..etc( just to name a few)
My BIGGEST collab I landed last month where I will not ONLY get to be an influencer BUT also a PARTNER for the ALWAYS growing brand called SHEIN
What makes me stand out is the fact that even though life may have dealt me a bad hand or two I still choose to RISE above.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I absolutely LOVE the diversity of our city; however, I dislike the crime rates which could ALWAYS be better!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shopvida.com/collections/shandy-shafer8688
- Instagram: Instagram.com/goodolshandy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shandlyn
- Other: Instagram.com/goodolshandy8688
Image Credits
Brad Barton Photography
Shandy Shafer
Robert Denton
