Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
“I can’t process your application with the information I’ve been given,” the woman on the phone is officious, likely hates her job, I theorize. “Your doctor has only sent me four medical reports; there is not enough here to support an inability to work.” I might have guffawed at this. “I can barely manage day-to-day […]
Read MoreThe challenge, when dealing with a chronic illness – in my case ME/CFS – is staying positive. Momentary improvements in health are toppled by extreme crashes. It’s like living in an eddy where, every once a while, the current quiets and it feels as if there might be an escape, and then the weather shifts […]
Read MoreProlonged illness almost always equates to isolation. Initially, kindness reveals itself through visits from friends and coworkers, meals dropped off, and many offers to help in any way. Not yet adjusted to my rapidly changing situation, I was overwhelmed and somewhat embarrassed by such an outpouring, having always considered myself strong and independent. Perhaps, I […]
Read MoreDepression rides along with chronic illness, not as a cause, but as a response. The limitations of this disease (ME/CFS) are not easily defined, yet, if pushed, will result in undeniable consequences. You would think that after three years, I would know this, and yet, I continually fall into patterns of denial. We travelled 3,000 […]
Read MoreListen to your body. Glib advice, especially if ignoring the body is habitual, and compliance is not listed as a character trait. What would my body have to say, I wonder. My legs, stiff and inflexible, lumbering along like Frankenstein; are they telling me to put them up, resign myself to rest? My arms, heavy […]
Read MoreTravelling South in a forty-foot vehicle is not akin to driving in a car. Apart from the obvious size difference, there are other factors to take into consideration. For one, the dashboard heater has a lot bigger job to do. If you are like me, the idea of heading into warmer temperatures makes me want […]
Read MoreOne day and forty-five minutes late, we are off on our new adventure. It is still dark outside and the temperature is minus seven Celcius. This is the first time I’ve been in the passengers seat and I am high up. The delay happened because Ric decided to have a mechanic go over the RV […]
Read MoreA forty-one foot Alfa See Ya sits in the driveway awaiting take off. Ric has had to get medical clearance after two heart attacks and triple bypass surgery in the spring. He has also had to get special licensing to drive our new soon to be home. We have purchased a mobility scooter for yours […]
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In dreams, I walk, no concern for the distance. I ride a bicycle, or drive a car. I move with purpose and direction… …until lucidity snaps me back to reality and then I plummet into the despair of knowing these are no longer options for me. In dreams, I confront life’s issues, face my foes, […]
Read MoreSpas are meant to be luxurious: relaxation sublime. My daughter planned on it when she booked us into a top-rated facility for a morning of pampering. My daughter doesn’t have mobility issues. It wasn’t her inner bitch that threatened to spoil the day. Should have known there’d be a problem by the absence of handicapped […]
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One Woman's Quest II 