Pain can’t just be ignored. Disease can’t just be ignored. People with disease and pain can’t just be forgotten. I’m not alone in suffering horrific daily pain. So many in society struggle every day. Some manage to work or interact with the wider community in some way. Others like me, live a permanently reclusive life … Continue reading A Peek Through My Window Of Pain
Snap, pop and crackle…and just like that I can't move my back. I've been doing reasonably well so it's disappointing when my broken body decides to break a little more, but this is life with a crazy bone disease. I can't thank my beautiful husband enough for his love and support. When you can't do … Continue reading Love Conquers All….Even Acute and Chronic Pain
I love turning over the calendar at the beginning of a new month. I have a pretty wall calendar in my study, so I look forward to revealing a new picture on the morning of the 1st day. It’s a symbolic act in some regards, of saying goodbye to the old month, the good and … Continue reading COVID, Chaos and Calm
I never imagined feeling so excited about receiving an email with the subject header: "Your Wig Is On It's Way" I am, surprisingly, incredibly excited. It's time to embrace what has been one of the most challenging consequences of my chronic illness. Last year I began to face significant hairloss. To say it was confronting … Continue reading Wig On It’s Way!
I can cope with most things about my disability. I'm not saying it's easy, it's far from easy. I have though, over the years, developed a toolkit of chronic disease management strategies which I've written about previously. These help me greatly on a daily basis: My Chronic Disease Management PlanBody Behaving Badly) My pain is … Continue reading Sleepless Night Strategies
I love life's little challenges. I love problem solving and turning obstacles into opportunities. I love putting a positive spin on what would otherwise be a very negative situation. I've always done this, both in my personal and my working life. So, chronic disease really wasn't going to change my approach to finding a way … Continue reading The Non Negotiable Chronic Illness Rule
This week on my forum Medical Musings with Friends , I posted a segment called "Any Questions?" I wanted to invite my forum members to ask me anything about my life, my disease, my writing etc. It was an open book kind of segment. The recurring question, or theme to the questions, was; "how do … Continue reading Any Questions?
When living with chronic illness, and particularly chronic pain, life needs a level of certainty, of routine. To a large degree we can create workable daily routines, manage our medications and medical appointments, and keep life ticking along so we maintain our equilibrium as much as possible. I actually love change. Throughout my career I … Continue reading Nothing Lasts Forever
I've decided one of the hardest things, about being medically retired, is working out what day of the week it is! Every morning I wake up and need to look at my phone, or the pain medication dispenser on my bedside table, to work it out. If it's the day after my medication dispenser has … Continue reading What Day Is It?
How can we practically deal with the "Great Expectations" of an upcoming medical appointment?It happens to all of us with chronic illness. We look at our calendar and see an appointment looming in the future. It offers such promise. We feel a little excited at the prospect of what may come from it.Hope. It offers … Continue reading Great “Medical” Expectations!
