There has become this trend regarding illness blogging.
There are thousands of different blogs out there of people telling their stories and explaining their lives with illness.
With so many different diseases and SO many varying personal experiences - each story is just a little bit different.
There is one main thing I would like to get across here:
Although there are those who are writing their stories solely for attention or for sympathy, I can confidently say that most people, in my opinion, who write about their life with illness are simply wanting to be understood.
I mean, that is why we all write and share our lives via social media. We want others to WANT to understand who we are, why we are the way we are, and why we make certain decisions over others. (On a small tangent I find it ironic that the age of social media was intended to improve empathy but has done very well to eradicate the concept of empathy).
Back on track here.
The reason that I write is to be understood as a person, to spread awareness of what it is like to live with chronic illness that causes chronic - every single second - pain. Not to gain sympathy (okay maybe a little bit sometimes) but so that people begin to empathize with others and learn about different diseases that are not spoken about very much (and some that are).
Even further to that, I hope that with some posts I can provide information to young people being newly diagnosed.
My recent post regarding all of the different online stores selling cute covers for ostomies was done because when I had an ileostomy, everything was so overwhelming that I had no idea where to even look for something like that. I remember not knowing what questions to ask or what was even available for things I felt were uncomfortable.
Going back even further, when I was first diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and wanted to learn more, I was bombarded with the most horrifying stories of how bad things can get. And although having an idea of what to expect is important, I felt like it wasn't an honest conversation about what day-to-day life was really like. I had no idea if these people were happy, if they did or did not work, or if they had a life outside of their health complications.
Being newly diagnosed with any illness, being new to a procedure or to a lifestyle after a massive surgery is overwhelming for everyone. If I can offer some ideas, some stories, but (most importantly) a relative crystal ball in a positive way then that is what I would like to do. I want to be honest with what day to day life is like, what the struggles are, but also what the regular life stuff is like. I want to show how, even though illness is a huge part of my existence, I have an entire life full of different interests and activities and happy moments that have barely anything to do with the illness itself.
My love for reading isn't because I am sick.
My love for my husband has nothing to do with me being sick. He is just exactly the kind of person I have always dreamed of being married to - someone kind, compassionate, sarcastic, smart, handsome, and genuine, who happens to drive a big truck!
My love for dogs, for music, for learning, for building friendships and building strength, constantly trying to improve and trying to keep motivation - although my direction with these things have been influenced by illness, my LOVE for them has nothing to do with it.
Illness blogging (to me) is about being raw and genuine, trying to offer information and some advice, and building awareness and understanding for people like me.
