Michelle Randall lives with her boyfriend, Dean Boese, her daughter Caitlin and an inoperable cyst in her brain. Michelle named the cyst Franklin to make the condition a little less scary to her daughter.

Franklin causes debilitating pain, nausea, tremors, and dizziness. The symptoms can occur at any moment. "It is like living on a roller coaster that I never know is there," Michelle says.

Despite having limited mobility and constant pain Michelle is fiercely independent -- choosing to battle her condition rather than succumb to it. "I can lay around and be sick or I can do something…I don't want to be disabled," she says.

For Michelle, that 'something' is to care for those around her, whether that be sharing veggies from her garden with neighbors or helping Caitlin with her homework before dinner. Her life of peaks and valleys includes great joy and perseverance in the face of great pain.