I have multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer. I do not think I should feel proud of that. I am not sure pride and cancer belong in the same sentence. Cancer came without warning. At first, I felt tired. Then I felt worn down. Before long, my body began to lose ground. A long time…
Read moreTag: inner strength
The Unwritten Morning
Have you ever woken up to a new day and really wondered what it held? Not a passing thought, but a real reckoning with the next few hours. When you live with a chronic illness, each morning feels like stepping into a story that hasn’t been written yet. Some days, I feel on top of…
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The Country Called Normal
Do something difficult. Close your eyes and go back to before. Not last week. Not last year. Before that. Go back to when you woke up in the morning and didn’t think about your inventory. When your body carried you through the day, without complaint, and you never thanked it. You went through your life…
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The In-Between Days
Dave, Some days announce themselves as battles. Others slip into your life with just enough symptom to remind you that your disease is always working, but not enough to knock you down. For lack of a better term, I call those ordinary days. Ordinary is probably a strange word for them. Compared with what has…
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Living with Parkinson’s Disease: Finding Meaning in Everyday Life
We have all seen someone living with Parkinson’s, whether in daily life or in the media. What people do not always see is that many of us are still active, creative, and living meaningful lives. I know that from my own life. Parkinson’s affects everyone differently. Some people shake more. Some feel stiffness. Some move…
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