“Your doctors will tell you it’s in your head or to lose weight. Your friends will tell you to buy this or that and it’ll be your cure. Your family will think you’re an attention seeker. Your job will terminate you because you are always sick.”
5 Key Tips To Help You Thrive With A Chronic Illness
‘For two days, I was on the floor in tears from the pain. My body shouted so loudly I had to listen.’: Woman with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic illness shares mental health journey
“I spent my teenage years at the hospital, taking over-the-counter painkillers every day like they were sweets. I didn’t know how I would survive.”
‘Tears falling, I limped to the school bathroom. ‘The bottom of your femur just broke off and is stuck underneath your kneecap.’: Young woman turned personal trainor shares journey with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
“Life completely flip-flopped on me. I was so depressed and mad at my body, I began to self-harm out of frustration. It took me a while to see value in myself again.”
‘How will I call an ambulance if I’m ALONE?’ I gasp for air and am unable to talk.’: Asthma warrior shares journey, urges ‘if your body needs rest, do it’’
“My life revolves around hospital care, appointments, and medication charts. Many people do not have time for a sick friend.”
‘Ashley, can you hear me?’ I flatlined. My heart stopped for 13 seconds.’: Woman details POTS diagnosis, having rainbow baby, ‘I am stronger than I was 5 years ago’
“I regained enough strength to walk down the aisle and marry my best friend. ‘For better or worse’ took on a whole new meaning.”
‘My teachers put me down, and friends drifted away. Without a diagnosis I was an anomaly.’: Woman diagnosed with HSD, other chronic illness urges ‘take your loved ones seriously if they say they’re unwell’
“I thought it was weak to make excuses over something so minor, after everything I’d been through. In reality, ‘I’ was the weak one.”
‘The doctor said, ‘We don’t know why it happened but it’ll never happen again.’ He made a very big mistake.’: Amputee fights unknown illness
“My leg tore open and blood vessels were bursting. A washbasin was held under my leg because it poured out like a tap. A student nurse gagged while I tried to hold it together.”
‘It felt like razor blades in my uterus. ‘I NEED pain medication!’ I thought I was going to throw up.’: Nonverbal woman with cerebral palsy shares journey with endometriosis
“‘This is not normal period pain.’ I stopped working, stopped going out, and stopped talking to anyone.”
‘He popped my hip out with a simple tap of his finger. I believed I’d always live in pain.’: Chronic illness warrior ‘thankful’ for journey
“The doctor came in. ‘How many broken bones do you think you have?’ Then he laughed and said, ‘You’re completely fine.’ I doubted my own body, thinking my pain was all in my head.”
‘She just doesn’t want to go to school.’ At 18, I became a single mom living with undiagnosed pain.’: Chronic illness warrior becomes advocate with son’s help, ‘I couldn’t live without him’
“I had 9 months symptom-free. ‘I wish I didn’t have to give you this diagnosis.’ I felt like my life was ending.”
