The strength of a woman is not measured by the impact that all her hardships in life have had on her; but the strength of a woman is measured by the extent of her refusal to allow those hardships to dictate her and who she becomes.
? C. JoyBell C.
Today is my 4 years poorly anniversary. It probably doesn’t sound like a reason to celebrate, but it gives me a lot to be thankful for. My strength has been tested more times than I can count but in return I’m wiser, tougher, more grateful and hopefully a better person for it.
I’ve learnt that your true friends aren’t always who you’d expect; they come in all different shapes and sizes. Some will never mention my health, others ask me to explain the entire formation of white blood cells. A few just come round for a cup of tea, the rest try to keep me busy, either way they know my limits and they’re there when I need them. That’s what counts.
I often joke that I’m collecting diseases and that really does seem the case at the moment. With Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease, Connective Tissue Disease, PCOS, Raynauds and recurrent Epstein Barr on the cards I do feel over faced at times. I’ve got my own coping strategies, things that I do to stay positive and make sure my time is still valuable.
Having something to focus on is a big part of that and since selling my business I’ve noticed the difference in my drive – it’s time for a shake up! This week I applied to do a BSc in Health Sciences specialising in Audiology. I need to stop thinking about the parts of my life that I can’t change, and start looking forward to the things I can, this past 4 years hasn’t all been pointless.
MRMweb says
It’s all about what you CAN do, rather than what you cannot, or used to be able to do, nobody chooses to be ill, but like carbon, people under duress and immense pressure can turn in to diamonds, as indeed you have 🙂
Vicki Higham says
Ahh Mark that’s one of my favourite sayings! ” No pressure, no diamonds” x
Jacquina Lee says
This post is so inspiring, I’ve been suffering from chronic pain for about 5 years now and because I’ve never had a diagnosis and you can’t see a problem a lot of people dismiss it as being not serious or even think I’m making it up. This post has really made me think about how much I think about all the things which will be affected by pain in my life rather than thinking of things I can do or what I’ve already acheived.
xo
Jacquina @ http://www.jazzyleelbc.blogspot.co.uk
Vicki Higham says
I’m sorry to hear that you’re still waiting for a diagnosis. I really struggled with not having a diagnosis, mainly because I didn’t know what to tell people when they asked what was wrong also because I didn’t feel like I knew what I was fighting.
Having said that, getting a diagnosis wasn’t all I’d hoped it would be. In my head a diagnosis meant a treatment but that isn’t how it turned out. Now I’m in the frame of mind where I think it doesn’t matter what they say is wrong with me because I’m already living it, feeling it and most days coping with it.
If you ever want to talk to someone that kind of “gets it” just email me ( vixhigham@gmail.com ). I know sometimes talking can help xx
Jade Culbert says
Totally agree with the last bit, focusing on what you can do rather on what you can’t changes everything! Congrats on the new course! Xx
Vicki Higham says
Thanks Jade. It’s sooo important to stay positive, obviously I have down days but everyone does x
Sarah Boyd says
Just catching up on all your old posts as I am a new follower. I can relate to so much of this, positivity is definitely the key for me too xx
Vicki Higham says
I’m so glad you can relate to it 🙂 Without twitter and blogs I’d have felt so alone at times. I have so much support from friends and family but it just isn’t the same. I don’t think anyone can understand a life long illness unless they live with one too xxx P.S I’m about to introduce you to someone I know on twitter that has RA x
On The Dressing Table says
Sorry to hear you suffer from all of the above, i can empathise as i have Rheumatoid Arthritis and i have definitely had to make some big adjustments in my life including only working part time so blogging has been brilliant to give me a different focus and something i can do from home on my rest days. It stops me from feeling completely useless when i cant do the things i used to do. Chronic pain is something i wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy but is so hard for people who don’t struggle with it to understand. One of the hardest things for me is that i can be in so much pain i would happily saw a limb off but there are no visible symptoms, and i feel like if i let people know how bad the pain is they think i’m moaning, but if i don’t they don’t understand how debilitating this condition can be. Hope your course is going well 🙂
Anna x
onthedressingtable.blogspot.co.uk
Vicki Higham says
Hi Anna. Thanks for your lovely comment. It’s nice to know there are plenty of other people going through similar things to me. I totally understand what you mean about having no visible symptoms and how people presume you must be ok if you look it. It’s so hard for people to understand chronic illness if they haven’t had any experience of it xx