“What do sick people think about? How do you know when you start to be a sick person?” This statement by author Nina Riggs in her memoir, The Bright Hour, was spoken when she woke up one morning shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. When I read it, it gave me pause….
I was recently provided with a very well-written article about POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) by a fellow POTSie who sees the same specialist I do. The article was written by the specialist, his nurse, and some of his patients who are in the healthcare field. Please feel free to share the article with…
Yesterday was a very overwhelming day, but I’m going to try my best to make it somewhat comprehensible. After six months of waiting (seriously, I scheduled this appointment in January), I finally had my appointment with Dr. Wilson. He’s a neurologist who specializes in POTS and has patients come from all over the country…
I think I need to take a break from reading memoirs. But I can’t seem to stop. My last four books: Still Waiting by Ann Swindell. Faithfully encouraging and integrates the story of the Bleeding Woman (one of my favorite parts of the Gospels). “From my own perspective, I couldn’t see any reason why God…
I’ll try to keep this short and sweet so as to not burden anyone. I need help from you, my faithful readers. The brain fog caused by one of my medical conditions, POTS, a form of dysautonomia, has made it monumentally difficult for me to think. It’s like…my thoughts won’t connect, or certain parts…
I just don’t have the heart right now. Nothing’s changed. And maybe that’s the reason. Say something… You think you’re fine and then suddenly you’re not. Again. Biding my time. Until what?
If you’ve been following my blog since before October 2016 or so, you might remember that I attempted to return to work on October 24th, six weeks after my brain surgery. You may also remember that it was a complete disaster and I have been unable to work since. But since that was a…
For me, 2016 was the year of the surgeries and bizarre diagnoses. Three surgeries, to be exact, spanning over a period of four months. Once the surgeries were over, I thought that once I had an adequate recovery period, I would be back to normal. I’d be able to return to work, from which…
Recently, I wrote a post that ended up being quite popular within the dysautonomia community. It’s actually been the most popular post I’ve written this year. I honestly have no idea why; I have read it over and over again and can’t seem to find what is so remarkable about it. When I asked…
One of the worst feelings you can experience as a chronically ill person is invalidation. It’s not necessarily that others don’t believe you (although that is also a tremendous problem and a discussion for another time), but that they either don’t see or don’t understand how much your illness(es) impact your daily life. Especially…
