Susan Beth Thomas was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was diagnosed at age ten with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, and endured surgery for a spinal fusion at age eleven; but she still persevered through many of her early life challenges, including depression.
During childhood and young adult life, she attended the Mt. Lebanon U.P. Church, which was a Godsend to her, as she learned she did not go through life alone. Upon graduating from high school, she worked with small children over the course of twenty-five years—working in preschools, working with special-needs children at a therapeutic preschool, and then worked in individual care as a full-time nanny for several families. Throughout the course of these pursuits, and at the forefront of all her desires, compassion for children was her main focus.
Susan then decided to pursue a college degree in education at age forty-two and attended Carlow University in Pittsburgh. She attended Carlow for three years and then transferred to Lynn University. Upon arrival at Lynn University, she changed her major to Social Work, thinking of pursuing that area of work with children. She graduated from Lynn University in 2010. Susan found where compassion could still be at the core of her work and her life.
Susan was diagnosed while going for her master’s with a disease known as Autoimmune Hepatitis, which led her to being able to fully write a book on living with an autoimmune disease, “It Is What It Is Until Faith Changes Everything.”
In 2021, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She became breast-cancer-free due to a lumpectomy, but now, almost five years later, the cancer has returned and metastasized—leading her on a new journey into the unknown. But what is known is this; you don’t stop believing.
Her own motivation and strength are what spur her on to want to help others in the same boat. Even with these diseases, Susan tries to lead an active life. With compassion clearly present, come take an inspirational journey.
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