Heroes Who Inspire All of Us

“Resilience is overcoming the odds stacked against you. Hearing “no”, pushing through, and coming out stronger on the other side. ❤️”- words of resilience from @lilyslittlelungs! Strength and resilience go hand in hand, and we are happy Lily encompasses that! “Resilience is overcoming the odds stacked against you. Hearing “no”, pushing through, and coming out stronger on the other side. ❤️”- words of resilience from @lilyslittlelungs! Strength and resilience go hand in hand, and we are happy Lily encompasses that! “Resilience is overcoming the odds stacked against you. Hearing “no”, pushing through, and coming out stronger on the other side. ❤️”- words of resilience from @lilyslittlelungs! Strength and resilience go hand in hand, and we are happy Lily encompasses that!

“Ali is the definition of resilience. She picks herself up and smiles through the hard because she is able to focus on all the good in the midst of her storms.” - words of resilience from @heatherherbert29! Let this resilience message inspire you today.

“Resilience is strength, no matter what obstacles try to stand in your way, you push through them no matter how difficult they may seem. In the end you will always come out stronger.” - words of resilience from @_hallemarie_ ! Let this resilience message inspire you today.“Resilience is strength, no matter what obstacles try to stand in your way, you push through them no matter how difficult they may seem. In the end you will always come out stronger.” - words of resilience from @_hallemarie_ ! Let this resilience message inspire you today.“Resilience is strength, no matter what obstacles try to stand in your way, you push through them no matter how difficult they may seem. In the end you will always come out stronger.” - words of resilience from @_hallemarie_ ! Let this resilience message inspire you today.

This is Pinky, who is from the Philippines, grew up in Dubai, and now resides in Brasil with her husband! She is a Jiu Jitsu enthusiast and Behcet Disease warrior. Behcet Disease is a rare condition that causes inflammation in blood vessels all over the body. The symptoms of Behcet can be numerous and seemingly unrelated, which is why Pinky was uncertain as to when her symptoms started since they were not all at once and didn’t seem to belong to one disease. In late 2014, the symptoms worsened leading Pinky to several doctors and eventually a rehumatologist, in which the Behcet disease was confirmed with a pathergy test. “It’s tough living with it, because of the constant pain, then you have the tiredness and the brain fogs. And the worst is trying to explain how it affects you since it’s not something that is visible”. This is something many people understand and experience on a personal level - just because your rare disease cannot be seen, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be empathized or understood! Jiu Jitsu provided Pinky with physical strength as well as inner, using her training to motivate her to get up every morning and get stronger, internally and externally. Through Jiu Jitsu competing, Pinky hopes to show others they can do anything, create awareness, and be heard so that those affected by Behcet and not knowing it, like she was at first, can find support and help to come to a diagnosis. Although rare in pediatric cases, Behcet still occurs and we are happy to help fund the education and research of this rare disease through the nonprofit Global Genes, with every Fenrici purchase. Fenrici believes that every rare disease should have its own voice and until then, we want to speak on the warriors of rare disease’s behalves. Thank you Pinky for sharing your story with us! We wish you well in your Jiu Jitsu endeavors and hope it continues to strengthen you inside and out to battle Behcet!

"In believable, achievable, and understandable ways, his messages remind us that hope is real, that peace is possible, and that life is worthy" 13-year-old poet and inspiration, Mattie.

Mattie was one of four siblings that were all claimed by a rare neuromuscular disease at a young age. However, he did not let his disease emotionally "claim" him as he spoke to thousands of people, sharing messages of hope and peace and advocating for improved hospice laws. He wrote several New York Times bestselling books and was featured on many talk shows. The timeline goes on of incredible feats that Mattie accomplished before passing the messages onto his mom, and eventually passing on.