“I wish there was something I could do to help.” This is a common response when I tell someone about my chronic illness. Sharing with someone that an external force is hurting you prompts a wave of emotion and action. They believe they can help, and more than that,…
How would I describe myself in one word? Strong. Of all of the adjectives I could use to sum myself up, this is the one I identify with the most. My strength of mind and body defines who I am today. It is the culmination of almost a thousand…
When I hear that someone I know has been freshly diagnosed with a chronic illness, I feel deeply hurt. I have flashbacks to the months I spent coming to terms with my own diagnosis, and my heart sinks. I would not wish a chronic illness on anyone. A life…
I finally made it. I worked my butt off all year and pushed through one last week of grueling early starts, and now I’m on the plane. Destination: Vietnam. This is my fourth overseas venture since being diagnosed with lupus. Every trip, I compare how I travel with lupus to…
Adjusting to life with a chronic illness requires you to alter your mindset in many ways. It might be a fundamental change, an existential shift that alters your perspective on life itself. Or it could entail changing your values and what something means to you. I used to hate napping…
My partner, Jordan, has been in the hospital for several days to treat a flare-up of his ulcerative colitis. He is in the same hospital where I was diagnosed with lupus. The familiar smell of hand sanitizer sparks flashbacks to my time here in 2016. I remember what it…
If I could give one piece of advice to someone with a new diagnosis, it would be this: Lupus can be anything, but ultimately, it will be what you make it! Except for anxiety and depression, lupus is largely a physical illness. It causes a long list of symptoms,…
One thing I’ve noticed in the three years since my diagnosis is that people who don’t have ongoing health issues tend to pigeonhole those of us with chronic illnesses. But just as people’s experiences, tastes, and passions in life differ, so too do their illnesses, symptoms, medications, and side effects.
I remember myself as more cohesive before diagnosis. It was easy to connect the dots when it came to my personality. While unbearable stubbornness has been a fundamental part of me since I was born, there weren’t nearly as many polar opposite sides of me as there are now.
Before my lupus diagnosis, I don’t think I knew what it felt like to be powerful. I also never knew what it felt like to feel almost powerless. And that’s the funny thing about my life: To know how it feels to experience one extreme, I need to have…