Growing Deeper Roots: My Story of Invisible Illness

It's been almost 2 years since I have posted to this blog. Believe me, I have tried. I have about 25 saved draft posts that never got published because they ended up sounding like the same repetitive story. Another pattern of rumination. Another soliloquy of self pity.  That's because the last three years of my life have been fairly cyclical and unchanged. I have a few good weeks where my symptoms plateau and I faint only once or twice a month. Then, a storm hits. I get a cold and I crash into a regressive phase where I faint daily, injury myself, get frustrated, and then slowly move back up to the plateau.  I have been tired and frustrated as I put grad school on pause, as I continue living with my parents, as I take three steps forward 2 steps back. So I stopped blogging and started to do what I could to move forward, pretending I am not sick, and working on ways to get healthier like a normal 24 year old. But still on pause.  But over the last few weeks, ...

Thanks to a friend of my mom's (Thank you, Kathy!), I have found a wheelchair. Apparently there is this really cool organization, Federated Charities' Medical Equipment Loan Closet, that loans medical supplies/equipment such as wheelchairs, crutches, etc. for 60 days at no cost to the patient. It was really easy and accessible and it was available the day after we called. So I wanted to give a shout out to awesome charities like this that help out people in need in ways that often don't occur to us on a regular basis.  We all know about shelters and kitchens that help out the less fortunate but places like this aren't always advertised or well known. While I'm lucky enough to have two hard working and able bodied parents that do a wonderful job providing for me, I know how burdensome medical expenses can be and they add up. Even with insurances partially covering the cost of wheelchairs and crutches, fees and co-payments put more burden on those who struggle to m...