the autoimmune hippie.

Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. . . Practice resurrection. – Wendell Berry

anxiety

  • friday verses for the anxieties.

    *Rolling into Fighting Words Friday having been extra unwell this week, my anxieties have really been kicking. Since they have been so unruly, I thought that, rather than having one verse this week, I would share several that are good ones for the anxieties as I know many of us struggle with them. ❤ *… Read more

  • anxiety disorder – and florence.

    As I’ve written many times over the years, I have lived with anxiety disorder since I was really young. Though I’ve learned to manage the symptoms, it can still be overwhelming at times – especially as parts of it worsened after I became so ill in the past few years. It can also be difficult… Read more

  • love loud.

    As I wrote in my previous post, since last weekend – and our amazing writers conference – I have been home with the flu. Unfortunately, many of my people are also sick since conference, several with the C19. One of our sick folk is our fabulous keynote speaker from last Friday night, Sean Dietrich. He… Read more

  • heavy & honest things.

    The notes for this post have grown – and found several unexpected turns – in the past few weeks as I’ve been wrapping up Spring Semester. It’s always a wild ride at the end of term – but this one especially since I had some pretty substantial hospital and sick time so I had projects… Read more

  • feeling the ill part of this chronic business.

    I’ve been chasing myself these past several days since discharge, getting caught up with school from the hospital while these antibiotics are kicking my arse and I am so freaking tired (it never fails). That said, I was on the phone with my husband while he was at work one day last week when my… Read more

  • 8 days.

    Today is day eight of my hospital admission, close to my longest admit to date. As I write, I am waiting on MD rounds to find out for sure if I am – hopefully, prayerfully, dear Lord please – going home today. We have been in a holding pattern, waiting on negative blood cultures, as… Read more

  • seeing fire and rain.

    Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus? You’ve got to help me make a stand You’ve just got to see me through another day My body’s aching and my time is at hand And I won’t make it any other way. – – Fire and Rain, James Taylor It’s been a James Taylor, Fire and Rain,… Read more

  • lions and tigers and flares, oh my! (and falls and gnarly injuries too)

    (So often I want to write about things other than autoimmune disease and spoonie life – but I also think it’s important to share just how delicate our chronically ill ecosystems are. Life starts happening, with the bad things everyone has to walk through sometimes, then our spoonie bodies respond with symptoms, then those snowball,… Read more

  • talking about life and death, covid and sick days, and loving others through these times.

    This is attempt number five to write this post because my thoughts are in a million places – and this time I’ve decided it’s best to just put it all out there and publish. . . so this one may be a bit. . . scattered. Scattered is appropriate though, I think, as these recent… Read more

  • honoring the memory of erin gilmer – and considering some of my most difficult days at the hands of the medical community as well. (we must do better for those in chronic pain.)

    As I wrote in my previous post, my rheumatologist had to take unexpected medical leave and cancelled all of his appointments suddenly – which he could not help – but he left WITHOUT providing another physician to cover for him. As my medications ran out from what was to have been my June 29th appointment,… Read more