“I woke up one day in agony, unable to move properly and bed-bound. The constant pain was so overwhelming I felt like I couldn’t live anymore. I hated what I’d done to my body. It was time for a change.”
‘You’ll end up alone.’ I was called Miss Piggy and took 26 pills a day. The pain was suffocating.’: Woman diagnosed with Fibromyalgia overcomes eating disorder, suicide attempt
‘A boy asked about my scooter. ‘That’s what rich people ride when they’re lazy.’ I was mortified.’: Woman with Multiple Sclerosis overcomes negativity, ‘All I can do is keep looking forward’
“My teeth crumbled out of my mouth because of my weakened immune system and stress. I cried day and night. People told me yoga, exercise, Paleo diets, or meditation would magically cure me. Thanks Karen, but I don’t think your snake oil is going to cure this bad boy!”
‘I kept getting multiple UTIs. A male doctor asked, ‘Do you think the pain might be ALL IN YOUR HEAD?’ I felt mortified.’: Woman with chronic urinary tract infections urges ‘you are not alone’
“I’d receive a 3-day course of antibiotics and be sent on my way. It would clear up, but come back with vengeance. I was told it was ‘just because I was WITH my boyfriend.’ Fair enough, sex can be a cause, but what did other people do? Stay single for the rest of their life? I was at a loss. All the doctors suggested I was exaggerating.”
‘I dropped to my knees. ‘Mom, I’m scared. I’m more than scared. Something terrible is going to happen to me.’: 21-year-old receives Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis, ‘I never knew how strong I’d come out of this’
“‘Miss Lehman, come on back.’ Finally. The moment I was waiting for. I had a whole list of symptoms written in my notes on my phone I read off to the nurses. They all looked at me with question marks on their faces. I could feel their energy. They thought I was just a young girl looking for attention.”
‘Caleigh complained of back pain. ‘Her spine is collapsing,’ the doctor said. My sweet daughter was curving.’: Mom to daughter with muscular dystropy says ‘not every bad situation has to have a bad ending’
“Out of the blue, her ‘best friend’ no longer wanted to be her best friend. Countless strangers walk up and ask why she is using a ‘grandma scooter’ to get around. Any time she falls, people stare or laugh instead of rush to assist her. Still, she does not believe in ‘I cannot.’ Through all the needle sticks and surgeries, she does her best to comfort ME.”
‘I have proof I’m not lazy. The doctor said, ‘You’ll have challenges.’ Sometimes I can’t form a sentence.’: Woman diagnosed with narcolepsy, ‘I refuse to let it control my life’
“I sat motionless in my car, trying to process what it all meant. The world felt so quiet and so loud at the same time, as if it wasn’t the world’s noise I was hearing but the ringing in your ears you hear when you’re about to get sick.”
‘I was sleeping 16 hours a day. I felt someone squeezing my lungs every time I took a breath. ‘You’re fine, just go home and rest.’: Woman battling Lupus urges ‘you’re capable of crushing every obstacle in your path’
“A group of doctors huddled at the end of my bed. I overheard them say, ‘She’s so incredibly sick, we just can’t figure out what’s wrong. She isn’t going to make it.’ I spiked a 104 fever. I was writhing in pain, grunting, moaning, begging for it to stop.”
‘I found myself drenched in sweat in the middle of the night. The doctor said, ‘You look perfectly healthy, but on paper you would terrify any doctor.’: Woman details brave journey with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Addison’s disease
“My doctor came in, her tone solemn and harsh. She was about to give me a serious dose of reality. She looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Listen, people with this have died from a minor dental procedure. If not treated and monitored properly, it will kill you.’ I was 35 years old, trapped in an 80-year-old body.”
‘I was choking on my own saliva. I thought my life was over. Alex was laying on my face crying and I could feel his tears running down my face.’: Autism mom with lupus describes difficult journey, ‘The thought of not being with him haunts me’
“One by one, I will lose all ability to speak and move. I will lose mobility at an age that is way too young. It will take away from the joy I share with Alex, which is already limited and unfair. In the worst part of my life when I was physically sick and could barely walk, I was given the greatest gift of my life.”
‘We’re letting you go.’ I was too sick to work. They bullied me for months and couldn’t handle my illness.’: Woman fights for mystery illness diagnosis, ‘I am chronically strong’
“I was afraid the doctor would put me in the nuthouse if I told her everything. How many 32-year olds have a full page of symptoms? I quickly lost 20 pounds.”
