Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
“It’s like COVID all over again,” my daughter remarks. She’s right, of course, except I’m the only one isolating. After two rounds of bugs and an infection, I have chosen to stay away from others in an attempt to give my immune system a break. Besides, I have a procedure in ten days for which […]
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“How do I know if I am depressed or it’s just the exhaustion of ME?” I asked my therapist in the early days of being bedridden with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. “It’s simple,” she answered. “With depression, you lose interest in the things you usually love, so you don’t bother. With chronic illness, you want to engage, […]
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When health takes a hit, the road ahead becomes littered with unknowns. After months of waiting, I finally got in to see a neurologist. Actually, the call came on the very day I was about to tell my doctor to cancel the referral. For ten years I have lived with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Diagnosed, that is. […]
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Bit by bit, these Autumn days have drained me, and still I push. First there was the trip to Toronto for tests (none of them revealing answers), then; we decided to host Thanksgiving, which involved three days of preparation (I thought I’d be okay if I did most of the work in advance), and then; […]
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If I listen to my body, I will lose hope. I will lie down, and never get up again. I am sticking to non-compliance, and hitching my hope to will. Mine and God’s. …as soon as I can get out of this bed… (On Wednesdays, I borrow from old writings – journals and blog posts. […]
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525: the number of displaced Ukrainians on my list needing hosts. 525 out of the 300,000 who have applied for refuge in Canada. I am one of a team of a dozen. 7 days ago I hit a wall. The pain just doesn’t want to subside. So now my team is -1. The numbers haunt […]
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Ruled out: COVID, heart failure, cancer, and blood clots. Twelve hours in emergency, under intense scrutiny revealed no answers. Symptoms continue. You need “restorative rest” the ER doctor emphasized. “Hire help if you can.” I suspect this is just another stage in my journey with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. The least amount of effort tires me, leaves […]
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Three years ago today, I dragged myself out of bed, and with the aid of my walker (and likely a wheelchair), I paid a visit to a local doctor/ practitioner of Functional Medicine. Getting out in those days was a huge ordeal, and typically entailed a backlash that would last weeks. I was that sick. […]
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It’s been 5 years since illness knocked me off my feet. Tuesday, I visited the doctor with a list of 12 symptoms to discuss. She had 4 things to cover with me. We spent 1 hour and she took 2 samples, and set me up with 1 specialist and 3 more tests. She gave me […]
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One Woman's Quest II 