“I’ll send someone in to schedule the test,” the specialist says to me. “Wait here a moment.” I nod and watch her leave. As the door clicks shut, a sinking, sick, hollow gap grows and groans in my chest. I shrink against the uncomfortable chair, stare at my hands or count the number of tiles on the floor. I don’t look at the posters of disease on the walls. I already read them earlier. It never gets better, this moment after the door shuts and there is only you and the white white room. It never changes. The me who...
I came across the online campaign Suffering the Silence through this PBS article and immediately knew that I wanted to participate. It’s an awesome movement that encourages people with chronic illness to share their stories. I’d highly recommend browsing the Instagram and Twitter hashtag. Scrolling through the pictures, I have found it so encouraging to see other young people discussing the hardest parts of chronic illness. These diseases can be incredibly isolating. And when I see people with multiple diseases, and read the things they’re saying, my spirit lifts a little. I’m reminded that I’m not alone. I haven’t talked...
It’s National Diabetes Awareness Day! I cracked my knuckles, pulled out my stalker credentials and hunted up my little sister’s super secret old blog (which I will not link to, because she has access to younger!me blogs that I’d rather leave dead I respect her) for a guide to Type 1 Diabetes she wrote when she was 16. My sister was a weird 16 year old. I’ll let younger!her tell you the tale, originally written for our cousin, Brooke, and later shared with the wide world through LiveJournal. I’ve touched it up a little. There is a strange organizational flow...
