Was I ever blown away today to learn my story was one picked as one of the 4 winning stories in the How Has YoWorld Improved Your Life Contest.
That's me, Patrice Wheaton for all those who know me as Dandelionwine here in the forum.
I am not sure if there was a prize involved, as I've been searching my inventory and cannot find anything new, nor saw a notice in game nor an email, so happy enough to know my story touched the Vikings hearts as much as they have touched mine. And if something does show up, I will be sure to share it and show it off in here.
So grateful they went out of their way to save this game that means so much to so many.
I will share my story underneath the contest notice:
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Big Viking Games

Hey YoFans,

Thanks to all of you guys who submitted your personal stories for how YoWorld (formerly YoVille) has positively impacted your life! We enjoyed reading through all of them, and honestly, they were all great. We were originally going to select only one winner, but we really struggled to choose which one would be the best. In the end, we chose multiple winners.

We’d like to congratulate Paula Rickard, Peggy Ann Cook-Cannedy, Patrice Wheaton, and Millie Hatcher for being the winners of the competition. Your courage to share some very personal stories were incredibly inspiring to us all here at Big Viking Games. One of our Vikings will be reaching out to you guys personally on Facebook, but feel free to also send a personal message to our Facebook page and we’ll respond back to you to get your information to send the Viking swag.

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest, and congratulations to our winners once again! Although we could only select three, we were touched by the many stories that were shared and look to them as a source of inspiration as we continue to work on improving YoWorld. For those who have not yet read the stories, here's a link to the post: http://on.fb.me/1w4cAx7


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MY YOVILLE STORY by Patrice Wheaton (aka DANDELIONWINE)
I received an environmental poisoning on June 8, 2008 that forever changed my life.
My Career that I loved, being a computer draftsman had to be put on the shelf, as I had become way too sick to go to work.
Little by little, as I realized how difficult it was to stay well outside of my house, I had to start abandoning things like visiting friends, shopping, hobbies, I needed badly to find out what was wrong with me and fix this, as my life’s vitality was now gone, replaced with days of migraines and complete debilitation-bordering on paralysis, vertigo, and mental brain fog.
I spent a year trying to figure out what was wrong with me, and although I got my answer, I also found out that there was little to no cure.
I discovered I had acquired Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and had become allergic to almost everything! Surprising to me, because I never had an allergy before in my life, now I had to live with being allergic to almost everything. New hypersensitive allergies to most chemicals (including cologne, any scented personal care product, air freshners, cleaning products, chemicals in food & meds, etc ), Plants, trees, grasses (much to the dismay of this life-long gardener-who was also president of our local garden club), Pets, Mold and algae, and worst of all foods. I now had only 12 safe foods.
My allergic responses were not the usual allergy itchy eyes, runny noses responses, instead my response were profoundly debilitating, losing all the muscle strength in my body making it impossible to stand, walk, use my arms, hands, talk, breath, every function in your body that requires a muscle to work it would go down when I reacted to something. Migraines (of a very strong variety) were happening to me 5 days a week. Add the cognitive loss of functioning into this mix, and you have what would become my new norm. These symptoms would persist for weeks without a break. Breaks would be short in duration, for as soon as I’d become exposed to something I was allergic to, I’d be back in the symptomatic world of MCS.

MY NEW NORM-THE FACE OF MCS


In an effort to relieve my symptoms, I filtered my whole house with powerful allergy efficient air filters, and practiced avoidance of allergens-this required me to wear a face mask whenever I left my house. I still had to be careful, for my allergies were so severe that I had become hypersensitive to many things that would permeate through the carbon filter of my mask and zap me.

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ME IN MY FACE MASK I MUST WEAR WHEN LEAVING THE PROTECTION OF MY FILTERED HOME

Art is my hobby and love. I enjoyed many art forms. I was a metal artist, working in silver, copper, brass and loose gemstones. I say was, because now with my diminished muscle strength, I have little energy in my muscles to work my metal working tools. I’ve also been a photographer for most of my life, and now found myself unable to walk around to remote sites to shoot pictures, and my camera equiptment became too heavy for me to carry around –all because of my reduced muscle strength. I also wrote, and found the cognitive symptoms interfered too much to continue writing.




TWO OF MY METAL WORKING PIECES.
DRAGON FLY (green tourmaline & amethyst)
BUTTERFLY (opal & mystic topaz)

Slowly I became isolated from the world and the activities I grew to love.
Shut in, I soon discovered Facebook, and then Yoville.
I dressed up my little avatar in a similar manner I dressed myself, and found I could identify with her. She represented the old super active me who’s favorite activity was to dance, dance through life free and unencumbered, spreading as much joy and happiness as I could. I could still do that in Yo!
Being a shut in and disabled, you are cut off from people, but in Yoville I was free to move around and socialize like I always did in real life.
I found I could decorate a room and use my art skills. I enjoyed many hours of down time where I could do little else, designing and decorating my rooms. It satiated my creative juices. While I played Yoville, I was not consciously looking at my limitations, but felt free to be me again. Yoville had become my life line, and was a critical component to me keeping my spirits high as I slowly started treatment my chemical injury and started to begin to heal.
I am currently midway towards recovery. I still need many hours where I must do nothing but rest and recover from the relapses I received from exposures.
My story does not have an unhappy ending, for I am getting better using Sauna Detoxes, practicing avoidance, and taking many many many allergy shots. One day I know I will dance again.
But until that day, thank goodness I can while away many hours feeling free and creative in YoWorld. A few of my Room designs:









I've been starting to post more of my rooms in the Photo Album part of this forum.


Thank you so much Big Viking Games for saving this game that means so much to so many.
We will be grateful forever!

You are a beautiful person and you deserve to have been chosen. I so admire someone who has the gumption to carry on - find the diamond in the mud - in the face of unstoppable odds. Thank you for inspiring us.

Congratulations, Dandy/Pat!!! Can't wait to see your Swag!! xxx

Congrats Dande!
Your story is touching, beautiful soul <3

Thanks everybody.
I wanted to share how special this game is to me, and just what it means to me.
I hope that comes through in my story.

My life indeed is full of many blessings, and I love counting them everyday.

I will share whatever prize is awarded/was awarded when I find out what it was ha ha ha.
I thought they origionally said they would notify us by email that we won...and I did not see one, nor anything new in game. Will continue to look and post whatever it is in this thread.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story.

You deserved to have been chosen, congratulations!

I have read your story on facebook. I'm so impressed you sure deserved it not only for what you have been going through but mainly for your courage and your positive way of sharing your story.

Congrats!! and wishing you best of luck on your way to full recovery

It is very good to see you got rewarded for sharing your story Dandelionwine I hope they gives you something great that you have been hankering after I also hope that gradually you can improve your health too

and Anthony is right you do deserve to have been chosen

OMG ! You're the woman from the Taboo show ,on National Georgrahic I watched it

I am so happy for you. Congratulations... and thank you for sharing your story and your lovely innovative rooms.

Congratulations. You are an inspiration.....

Fackovski (146292318) wrote:OMG ! You're the woman from the Taboo show ,on National Georgrahic I watched it

Yes that's me!
You aren't going to believe this, but I never got to see the show ha ha ha!

I am hoping it comes out on DVD so I can finally see it, LOL.

It was so much fun to film. National Geographic came out and filmed me in my home for 5 dayz, then we drove to Dallas Texas to see my Environmental Medicine doc who has brought me a long way towards healing. I still have a ways to go, but am slowly getting there.
I was so hoping the episode would gain some awareness of MCS to the public, and the cause of the illness-which are exposure to toxins in our everyday products.
A lot of what I said got cut out of the episode, as they took 5 full dayz of film. I am so curious what did not get aired.

I have met many just like me living life after environmental poisoing.
A totally brave and inspirational collective are those of us living with MCS. I am honored to call them my friends.

Congrats, DANDELIONWINE. You deserve to win. I saw the pictures you posted in the YoWorld Community, it's something about a rally you attended. I love your metal works, too. I just love anything with gem stones. Thanks for sharing.

DANDELIONWINE (122607870) wrote:

Fackovski (146292318) wrote:OMG ! You're the woman from the Taboo show ,on National Georgrahic I watched it

Yes that's me!
You aren't going to believe this, but I never got to see the show ha ha ha!

I am hoping it comes out on DVD so I can finally see it, LOL.

It was so much fun to film. National Geographic came out and filmed me in my home for 5 dayz, then we drove to Dallas Texas to see my Environmental Medicine doc who has brought me a long way towards healing. I still have a ways to go, but am slowly getting there.
I was so hoping the episode would gain some awareness of MCS to the public, and the cause of the illness-which are exposure to toxins in our everyday products.
A lot of what I said got cut out of the episode, as they took 5 full dayz of film. I am so curious what did not get aired.

Oh wow, your famous.

No but really, Your story is very touching and your a very strong person. <3

Sweetest read ever. I remember you from the old forum. How lovely to read your story this morning. So happy for you that this world survived for you to enjoy.

Congratulations on your win and on your positive attitude! Thank you for being my inspiration today!