The time came last week for me to begin temporarily scaling back. This is the most important thing you can do to preserve and honor your health when you’re hitting a rough patch or going through a flare-up. This is also the hardest thing for driven, goal oriented individuals like…
Participating in a clinical trial can be intimidating. There are certainly lots of things to consider based on what it being tested. That said, you can also participate in making history. During September of 2011, I traveled to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland to participate in…
I met a woman a few months ago who’d had knee replacement surgery. She said that she tried everything under the sun to avoid surgery – all of the woo-woo and not-so-woo-woo stuff. She finally relented to the operation when she could not longer walk. Before she spoke they showed…
Have you ever had a grouping of words strike you so profoundly that you almost need to pull your car over when you hear them? Fortunately, I was pulling into a parking spot when they came over the radio, or I would have done just that. I was listening to…
Illness requires us to let go of a lot of things. I sometimes think it’s a spiritual quest toward non-attachment. Priorities become clearer as we need to clear our plates to allow for healing. I had to let go of two things today. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow where…
The cankles have arrived! It’s lovely to watch your ankle expand during the day to eventually swallow any definition you previously had between your calves and feet. The one lesson this has taught me is that strappy sandals are not a good choice at this point in my care. We…
Ashley Jenkins is our final Chronic Resilience contest honoree. We were very moved by Ashley’s tribute which demonstrates how important it is to share our stories and connect. Take it away Ashley… I consider myself an extremely lucky individual; yes, I suffer from a horrible disease known as Gastroparesis, but…
Aimee Ward is one of our Chronic Resilience contest honorees. She has written a touching essay about the power of those that are closest to us to see past our flaws and know exactly what we need. Take it away Aimee… If I had to pick a person who inspires…
Danica Moore is the winner of our Chronic Resilience Essay Contest! She has written a beautiful essay about the ability of a child to celebrate all of the wonderfulness that we are. Take it away Danica… Pigtails By: Danica Moore Everyday I wake up and fight a battle that I…
Getting diagnosed with anything is tough. There are things to learn, appointments to attend, tests to have done, medications to start, family to inform, insurance to deal with and of course, a TON of emotions that can be all over the place. I’ve done getting a new prognosis in two…