“I started wearing sunglasses indoors. My hair was falling out in chunks, my gums bleeding. Sounds hurt. The very smell of air made me sick. I was a shell of myself, withering away, barely hanging on. But then I thought of my little girl. She was so small, not even talking yet. How would she remember me? Who would teach her to do her hair? I had to stop planning my goodbyes, and start fighting.”
‘Every time I gave birth, I awoke the dormant beasts inside me.’: Mom of 3 shares journey to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Lupus diagnoses
‘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.”
‘My lips turning blue, I started to hyperventilate coming out of the night club. Or so I thought.’: Chronic illness warrior shares journey with severe brittle asthma, Crohn’s disease
“I had not long turned 18 and was out most weekends having fun as you do at that age. That was until one night when everything changed.”
‘Every morning I trudged, syringe in hand, to get stabbed in the abdomen on an exam table while my classmates grabbed Starbucks. I began silently screaming, ‘Why me?’: 19-year old diagnosed with IBD, ulcerative colitis advocates for change
“I was warned about the freshman year dorm life and told where to go for mental health counseling if exams became too stressful. I was not told what to do, how to continue, or who to turn to if I was suddenly forever ill.”
‘It shouldn’t hurt that bad.’ I was weak, lazy. A complainer. Only 15, doctors had already given up on me.’: Woman diagnosed with Lupus after years of misdiagnoses urges ‘find someone who will listen’
“I could not find my words. I slurred my speech and often got lost driving to places I’d driven to a thousand times. My doctor finally explained pregnancy posed ‘too much of a risk to my life.’ But come December, I saw two little lines on a stick. This little one was determined.”
To The Family And Friends Of A Chronically Ill Loved One: Come Sit With Us
“They really don’t need judgment or hurled opinions. Your loved one needs community.”
‘The doctor secretly put in my chart, ‘Borderline personalities due to dislike of multiple providers.’ I was down to 107 pounds, in constant pain. No one was willing to listen.’: Nurse, chronic illness warrior shares emotional journey to diagnosis
“I was ignored by providers during my cries for help. Friends stopped asking me to hang out. My long-term partner was emotionally unavailable. I had to learn to pursue the life I deserved despite the labels.”
‘He didn’t listen to my concerns and pushed me to medical menopause at 27.’: Endometriosis warrior shares struggles to find treatment
“After a few months my periods stopped completely, I gained 30 pounds, and was constantly bloated. If you don’t make time to take care of your health, you will be forced to take time off for your illness.”
‘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.”
‘I support Simone Biles. Why? Because I was where she is.’: Woman shares importance of choosing mental health after quitting ‘dream job’
“I had the dream job. Behind the scenes, it was becoming a nightmare, and no one knew. For the sake of my health, I couldn’t do it anymore. I had to walk away.”
