Tuesday, May 31, 2011

If there was one piece of advice I could give everybody...

It would be to value your health. Use it. Take care of it. Thank whatever deity you may believe in for it. Because once it is gone....it's like air- you don't notice how much you need it until you can't breathe. Or your knees...you miss them when they're gone. I hope nothing happens to my knees....

Sadly, this is something that I only realised once my health was taken from me. I sit now, barely able to type because my hands are in bandages due to chronic eczema. BIH and diabetes has robbed my of my youth. I can't have kids because it's too dangerous and nothing works properly anyway. And mental illness has robbed me of...everything.

I remember the days when I could still run and climb trees and when I took no pills. They seem incredibly far away.

So, yes value your health. It is one of life's greatest gifts.

3 comments:

  1. If only there were a way to help people really understand this while they are still healthy.

    I'm sorry for all the health issues you struggle with. At least my body waited until I was in my late 30s before it fell apart.

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  2. That's good advice. But as you know, the old saying about "you don't know what you've got till its gone" is very true. It seems almost in our nature to not be able to realize the value of things until we no longer have them.

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  3. I totally relate to your comments here. I got xick in my twenties, my early twenties, with Fibromyalgia and what was then called Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome and duyysautonomia. The diagnosis has changed over the years several times, but needless to say, I am still sick. I also have Schizoaffective Disorder on top of the physical stuff. So I understandd what that double whammy feels like. Some years ago I started a website and email list for women with chronic illnesses called Sick Chicks and Twisted Sisters, along with some online friends who were also young women who were sick. The website is still up at http://sickchicks.homestead.com. I don't know of anything there will help you or not. But there is also a site called WEGO Health where I have seen a lot of neat "health activism stuff".

    I remember thinking when I was younger, that I was so glad I still had my health, because after years of dealing with depression, I was grateful for my physical health. And then I lost that. It is a hard thing to cope with. You are not alone, and you are smart and brave for your honesty. I admire that in people. I try to be very honest on my blog too.

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