MAY 2008 - At the urging of a former HHS classmate, Amy Yost (now Martin) has written a book that chronicles her fight to survive an unimaginable array of health issues since graduating in 1987. At her HHS class reunion last fall, Amy was encouraged by classmate Furman McDonald, who is now a doctor at the Mayo Clinic, to share her story with others by writing a book. Who would have thought that the athletic, popular homecoming queen would develop a health resume that resembles a medical book of illnesses. It started with a stroke at 19 while attending NC State (she spent 7 months learning to speak and regaining her motor skills), an auto accident a short time later (that included being in an induced coma for a month), a partial colectomy at 20, diagnosed with Graves disease at 26, a full colectomy at 28 (including a MRSA infection), C-sections during the birth of both sons, ankle surgery at 34 and gall bladder surgery at 37.
It is hard to imagine a person so young enduring so many challanges and surviving. "I do not know," Amy shared during a recent Times News interview. "I have always been a self-motivated kind of person... I have learned from myself that I am an extremely strong person." All of these obstacles have not stopped Amy from enjoying life and pursuing opportunities as they come along. She and her husband Tim operate a successful non-medical home care service and have two sons, ages 5 and 2. "When you are faced with what you feel like is an insurmountable obstacle,... persevere.... it will go away - it will pass," Amy shared. "The sun always comes up tomorrow." After reading Martin's book, friend and fellow HHS grad Karen Lewis is writing a screenplay about her life. "When I read the book, I was just taken with the story," Lewis says.
Amy's book Living to Tell About It: A pursuit of Normalcy is available for purchase at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and lulu.com/content/2193894. More on this story can be found through our Times News link in their 5/25/08 edition, the Blue Ridge Living Section.
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