Toni Hopper
DUNCAN — When Joy Lindgren was contacted by a fellow church member to participate in Operation Homefront, little did she know that she would get a special Christmas gift for her family.
It also helped make the last few weeks of waiting for her soldier husband to return home easier.
Lindgren, along with her 18-month old daughter, and her mother, traveled to Mustang two days before Christmas to appear on the NBC Today Show.
That’s what she thought. It turned out that Lindgren was one of about 15 military spouses who braved the oncoming winter storm with hopes of taping a Christmas greeting to her husband, Andrew, who was deployed overseas to Iraq on his third tour of duty.
“Once we got there, they filmed us like they do for the Today Show at Rockefeller Center,” Lindgren said. “But we were there under false pretenses.”
That false pretense paid off for the Lindgren family. They were given a $1,000 shopping spree.
“It was a wonderful Christmas blessing. I was able to buy two car seats, a new baby doll for Abigail, some clothes,” she said.
The surprise really helped her, she said, since she wasn’t in the Christmas mood and was really focused on January, when her husband would return home.
“And I used it to buy extra groceries and stock up the pantry now that I’m cooking meals every night again,” Lindgren said.
“We barely made it home (because of the storm),” she said. She was glad that her mother, Pamela Cummings, was with her and Abigail.
Joy said her husband returned home in early January, but is already looking for a full-time job in the National Guard. One of the reasons is because of the good medical benefits.
Joy was diagnosed with Lupus and fibromyalgia during Andrew’s second deployment. It wasn’t long after when she became pregnant.
“We both wanted children. God really blessed us in that way,” she said.
Getting the diagnosis wasn’t life shattering for Joy. In fact, she said it was the opposite.
“I feel a whole lot more in control. I was very excited when they gave me the diagnosis. For years I had people tell me I was a hypochondriac,” she said. Lindgren said she’s dealt with it since she was in high school and laughs as she recalls some of her mother’s scolding. She said that she her mother would tell her to get more rest so she could get up in the mornings.
She even got to the point she was walking with a cane, she said.
Even though she now knows the reason for her pain, she still must deal with it. Yet it’s more manageable.
“You hurt a lot. I was tired a lot. I couldn’t get myself up in the morning,” she said.
The hardest times of the day are mornings, she said.
Before she knew what was wrong, she would chalk it up to doing too much, just being overly tired.
“It’s just something people don’t understand. It affects so many. It takes an average of eight years to diagnose.”
Diagnosing the Lupus and fibromyalgia does include a blood test, she said, but there are 11 criteria doctors consider.
“For me, they were able to look at me. I’d get red blotchy cheeks, muscles get sore, like I had run too much. I’d get tired, but I already slept.”
Pain management includes a chemotherapy drug and another drug for fibromyalgia, Lindgren said.
“I like to say my immune system has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). My body can’t distinguish between the good and bad.”
Since her husband’s return, Lindgren has gotten extra encouragement from him to join a gym.
“He came home very much in shape. I’m going to start working out and try to catch up with him,” she said. “It’s been very relaxing to have some help with Abigail and I’m definitely enjoying the extra hands.”
Abigail took less than a day to reacquaint herself with her father and since then, she hasn’t left his side, Joy said.
It’s been interesting as a military wife, she said, acknowledging just celebrating four years of marriage.
“It’s just been different, a different challenge. Every tour presents its own challenges,” she said.
The last time Andrew, 39, was on tour, Joy, 27, didn’t have a child that she was responsible for.
Andrew is a public affairs officer, and he’s also got experience as a medic and in transportation.
“He’s very flexible,” Joy said. “I’d rather have that man 50 percent of the time other than any other man 100 percent of the time. He’s a good guy.”
When Andrew is gone, Joy stays busy with her parents, including routine lunch dates with her father, Clif Cummings.
“We’re very active in our church. Dad is pastor at First Baptist Church in Duncan,” she said.
— Toni Hopper is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. She can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 132 or by e-mail at: toni.hopper@duncanbanner.com
