Friday, April 18, 2014

5 Challenges, 5 Victories #HAWMC

The 5 biggest challenges of my health are 1) crippling pain that is difficult to manage 2) overwhelming fatigue that cannot be medicated 3) mood swings that cannot be medicated (the science just isn't there yet), 4) the stigma that come from a disability 5) the misunderstandings when that disability is invisible.

My 5 victories that keep me going: 1) the right pain medication that allows me to control my pain 65-85% of the time, 2) medication for my chronic nausea so I can take my pills on a regular schedule, 3) friends that inspire me to new creative heights 4) an audience & followers that support so much of what I do (really I wouldn't be here without you), and 5) the continued love I get for and from my writing.

My ability to share my struggle with you, raw and often unfiltered, has been a true blessing. The outpouring of response has kept me going through dark times. When I've been able to help someone, then that means my suffering wasn't for nothing. If I've been able to make it real or give it voice I'm a way no one else has been able to, that's such an amazing feeling: both awesome and humbling all at once. Who am I to say what it's like for anyone else? But you reply that my story has been your story too, and we've been able to connect in that way.

I do hope I've been able to share your story of what it's like and what we go through. I hope that I've been able to give you a laugh, or make you smile, or let you in on some tidbit you didn't know before. It makes my day whenever I can do that, and I certainly call that success. You are my success. A blog yearns to be read, so that you're here is a victory for me. Every link from outside traffic sources sends my heart aflutter. When a super-spreader finds a post an makes is go viral? Those days are like Christmas.

It was as though I missed Christmas last Summer - I got over 6,000 unique visitors in both months. I wish I knew how to read blogger stats better, so I could properly show my appreciation. As it is, all I can do is bask in the mystery and the love. My tragedies have been the foundation on which I have built my victories. There's no better way go!

Thank you for helping me accomplish that.

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