thanksgiving day 3 – spoons. – the autoimmune hippie.

As so much of my writing here is devoted to sharing about life with my multiple autoimmune diagnosis, today I want to say how thankful I am for God’s grace – and spoons – through all of this.

(Again, I’m just catching up because of end of term stuff. This term, y’all. . . This. Term. #fixitjesus)

First, I’m sure most of you are familiar with the use of spoons and spoonie in reference to those of us with chronic illnesses – but, in case anyone who is reading isn’t, here is a little explanation of spoon theory (sometimes we forget it isn’t exactly common knowledge to healthy people):

Explained in a different way:

This is the spoonie life.

Of course, over the years, I’ve shared many of the ups and downs of my health and how quickly it can change as well.

I mentioned when I started our Thanksgiving week that I have been struggling to finish my CRPS Awareness Month post this year, perhaps because I’ve been fighting more CRPS symptoms lately than I have in a while and that is really upsetting, no matter how long I’ve been dealing with these diagnosis. Periods of increased disease activity with CRPS after it has been stable are especially unsettling because of the awful and unpredictable nature of the disease.

As I’ve been trying to beat back this nasty flare, stories that have been circulating widely about Christina Applegate’s first major appearance since her autoimmune diagnosis with MS have both resonated with me and gutted me.

If you haven’t seen them:

Christina Applegate Walk of Fame Star.

As she has described in several interviews leading up to this appearance receiving her star on the Walk of Fame, she has experienced major neurological symptoms, severe fatigue, and balance issues, as well as a 40 pound weight gain since her diagnosis. She has also had to adjust to life with mobility aids. One comment I saw was that it was hard for her to have people see her as a disabled person for the first time – and, not only do I understand that feeling, but I haven’t found it to ever get any easier.

All of the things mentioned were so familiar to me – and I hate it so much for anyone else to have to walk through.

I understood her bare feet at the event – actually, I’ve just written recently about going back to the very beginning of this blog and having to barefoot through Target – in my first post – just to make it. I recognized prednisone moon face as soon as I saw her. And goodness knows, when I saw her “F U MS” nails, I felt that in my spirit.

My word, do I hate this for her – and thinking on all of these things has stirred some deep feelings.

It has been a hard path, goodness knows, to deal with all of these diagnosis and surgeries, infections and complications.

In the midst of it all, I am so thankful for all of the Lord’s blessings, especially for my precious family, and for His grace and strength through some scary and challenging things. ❤

There are many Scriptures that I share with my fellow spoonies in times of illness and fear; God’s Word is just filled with hope and comfort.

Here are a few verses that are especially dear to me for anyone who needs a little extra encouragement today. ❤