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How To Get Back Into Your Routine
If you read my article on Monday, you know I’m out of my routine. I thought for a while I was doing myself a favor by being loose with my schedule. Now, I see once again why I deserve my schedule. I deserve to sleep well. I deserve to eat well. I deserve to feel ready for my day. My schedule provides me with all of those things. It allows me to be the greatest version of myself. So here’s how I am getting back into my routine: Start Slow We’re running a marathon here, not a sprint. We have to start slow. I started by going to bed an…
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Celebrating Life!
On December 22, 2019 I came very close to losing my life. It was by far the closest call I’ve had. I was hospitalized nine times previous and on and off steroids, that is quite the claim. I feel lucky to be alive. A large part of why I’m here today is because of my service dog, Crush. I couldn’t be more grateful to have him in my life. After being discharged from the ICU on December 23, 2019, I’m happy to report I haven’t been hospitalized since! I can’t explain to you what an incredible accomplishment that feels like. This year has included six surgeries. Including one to get…
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My Goals for 2021
On Wednesday, I looked at my goals for 2020. I’m happy to say that I met almost all of them with flying colors. I don’t necessarily believe in New Years Resolutions. However, I think it’s important to always have goals and strive to meet them. Once again, I will write my goals out for outward accountability. I will push the boundaries of what I feel comfortable doing in order to become the best version of myself. Goals for my personal life:My number one goal for 2021 is to graduate college. I’m on track to receive my BA in the Summer. I’d also like to finish my application to graduate school.…
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Reviewing My Goals For 2020
I was looking back at all my articles recently. After pursuing for a while, I stumbled upon my goals for 2020. I wrote out and posted those goals because I wanted outward accountability. With the pandemic and more surgeries than I expected, I forgot what I wanted out of 2020. When I wrote that article, I hadn’t even heard of covid-19. So let us look back together and talk about what I wanted vs. what I did. The goals I set for my personal life were as follows:-Start dating againI’m happy to say I followed through with this. It hasn’t been the journey I expected but it’s definitely been very…
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Why I Don't Set My Goals According To My Chronic Illness
I made an article last week talking about why I don’t make goals based on my OCD. Today, I want to talk about why I don’t make goals based on my chronic illness. Now, these two things differ quite a bit. That’s why I’m writing two separate articles. Chronic illness poses a lot more physical challenges and isn’t about what I believe I can do. It’s more about finding a way to work within the circumstances I’m in. I have several different chronic illnesses. This changes the way I interact with the world on a daily basis. I have a service dog and often need to accommodate my disability in…
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You Deserve Professionals Who Care
I was struck this week by how important it is to trust your healthcare professionals. I see this in all aspects of my life. It has taken me a long time to find people that will work with me based on my values and vision. Not all professionals are the same. At the end of the day, everyone is human. They all come in with their own ideas and ideals. If they’re unwilling to put their ego aside and listen to you and your needs, it’s time to move on. This thought came to me while I was at physical therapy. I LOVED my physical therapist last year. I felt…
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Five Must Haves for POTs Patients
There are a lot of things I have specifically for my medical condition. I wanted to outline a few things that I have that are for my POTs. These were helpful for both before and after I was diagnosed. If you’re new to the diagnosis or you think you might have it, considering investing in these tools. Here are five must haves for POTs patients. Pulse Ox I got my pulse Ox monitor only recently. I was relying on my apple watch to tell me my heart rate. 99% of the time my watch is accurate. The oxygen saturation component is particularly helpful and not offered on my watch. When…
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I'm Not Broken
I’m not broken. I have a chronic illness. I do things differently. I must accommodate my disability or risk having severe consequences. That doesn’t make me broken, it makes me human.This topic has come up a few different times recently. I’ve addressed in blog articles the narrative that we set for ourselves. Today I’m talking about other’s narratives about me. I want to address this because much like my language matters, your language about me matters. I can’t change my disability. It is a part of me. When you say things like, “cause you’re broken.” It’s often very hurtful. I do a lot to manage my disability. I often try…
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A Year of Blogging
I can’t believe it but I’ve been blogging for a full year. I finally took the plunge last year after medically withdrawing from the semester. At the time, I was concerned about my neurological health. The possibility of a progressive disease was looming in the distance. It was an incredibly intense time and starting a blog felt like a way to regain control and speak my truth. I can’t thank my brother enough for helping me in this endeavor. Let’s look back at the past year. I found out that my form of dysautonomia is not progressive. That was a big win. I got my tonsils removed after a very…
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Qualities I Look For In Friends
If chronic illness has taught me anything, it is choose your friends wisely. We are all equals but some people are much kinder than others. I know this article isn’t like my usual ones but I think it’s important to talk about. It’s easy to cling onto people when friends are sparse. Easy friends are often the ones to leave when life gets difficult. I grow close to people that I imagine will be there for me in a crisis. It’s not a full proof plan but these are some of the qualities I look for. Empathy I think that this is the most important. Empathy is essential to walking…
