Andrea Gunning

And now I realize that contributed, but it was survival to me at the time.

I just felt like I was fighting all the time just to stay alive.

What she was experiencing was severe, so much so that it began impacting her ability to do her job.

I had a friend at work who let me use her office just to go in and cry when my anxiety became so much.

After consulting with her doctors, she decided to take time off.

She started taking medical leave here and there.

Sometimes there'd be months when she couldn't go into the office.

My coworkers had to take on more cases.

These teenagers that I was really close with and really depended on me had to get switched to other workers.

I felt like I was letting down my kids, letting down everybody at work.

No matter how sick she got, Mike stood by her.

He encouraged her to try new meds and new treatments, anything to help her feel better.

He also made sure she was taking care of herself in other ways.

If I needed to sleep in, if I wasn't feeling well, he could take the kids to their sporting events and he would always make dinner every night.

It left me able to do the things that were helpful to me.

She felt unbelievably grateful for him.

They weren't even married and he was there for her as a real partner.

It felt like he was helping me and I'm losing it.

That's what it felt like.

I was struggling so much and I just wanted to survive and get through.