A woman in Volusia County is finding healing through art. The Ormond Beach woman is overcoming her illness, one piece of art at a time.
Sometimes art comes from the most unexpected places. “She’s so talented, she’s so smart,” said her mother Cathy DeSola.
Hanging on the wall in her house are portraits of hope and healing. The woman behind the brush is 35-year-old Elizabeth D’Angelo, known as Beth to family and friends. “She’s full of energy and vitality and betrayed by a physical body,” said friend Tom Heath.
For the past five years, Beth has been dealing with chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis. It's an inflammatory condition of the brain and spinal cord. During our visit, Beth and I spoke through Facebook messenger. She’s so weak and sensitive to sound it’s hard for her to talk.
“She’s in real trouble. She’s at real genuine risk everyday, every hour,” said Heath. Clenching her fists in pain, Beth goes through a medical episode every hour. Her parents and close friends apply magnesium on her body, about the only thing that helps.
But for her mother and father, the task seems a bit tougher with each passing day. “I want her alive," said DeSola. "She is supposed to be taking care of me and my old age, ya know?”
While Beth is confined behind these four walls, she said painting help her escape it all. Finding the right medical care has not come easy. Beth and her family continue to search for a doctor who can tend to Beth in her own home. Beth sells her art online to help cover some of her large medical expenses. “Lord please be with me. Help me do this… Help me keep going,” Beth’s mom added.
Beth hopes to one day recover and publish her own children picture books in order to share her love for art with the rest of the world.
For more information on Beth’s art, check out www.elizabethdangelo.com or to learn how you can help, go to: www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/elizabeth-s-miracle/213280