In the past three decades of dealing with unpredictable health issues, a pain point has reared its head over and over again for me. After countless conversations with other chronic illness warriors, I know it’s an ongoing struggle for many: employment and financially caring for ourselves. The constant struggle for…
I was staring at the hospital walls, whispering to myself, “I don’t understand this pain.” Neither did the emergency room physicians and the hospital’s admitting physician. They’d done their best to pin down the “great imitator” using every blood test, scan, and opioid at their immediate disposal. At that moment,…
If you, like me, live with chronic illness, have you ever felt like you think about your mortality more often than your healthy friends and family members do? Since before my lupus diagnosis, when I knew something was going haywire in my body, I’ve given a lot of thought…
An interesting video is circulating on social media that I’ve seen more times than I can count. While it may be just a colloquial trend used to boost a content creator’s analytics, it still offers an interesting declaration. The video opens with a pensive-looking person with cursive text above their…
At the start of each new year, I find myself awestruck by what it could bring to my life. While social media has a funny way of making us feel an overwhelming pressure for a “new year, new me,” I’d like to share with you a gentle reminder: Life with…
When was the first time you heard the words “advocate” and “advocacy”? According to Dictionary.com, to advocate means “to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly.” And the Cambridge Dictionary says advocacy is the “public support for an idea, plan, or way…
We’ve all heard it. “But you don’t look sick.” There’s also “You still look good,” “That weight looks good on you (or off you),” and “I couldn’t tell you were that sick.” For quite some time, conversations among people living with lupus, which I have, or other chronic illnesses…
Chronic illness can bring a variety of challenges and limitations into our lives that are out of our control. For me, one of those was my inability to have children of my own. That was a hard pill to swallow, and it took time for me to work through it…
It’s the holiday season again, and while it’s my favorite time of year, it’s also the season that stresses me out the most. If you have lived with chronic illness for a while, as I have, you’re likely aware that it doesn’t mix well with stress. One…
Since 1986, Delta airlines has consistently served Biscoff cookies during flights. According to Simple Flying, the airline serves about 85 million cookies a year. If you’ve taken to the skies in the last decade, you’ve probably had a pack or two (or four) of these oblong, cinnamon-ginger shortbread…