the autoimmune hippie.

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

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  • rainy days and mondays on my mind

    Talking to myself and feeling old Sometimes I’d like to quit  Nothing ever seems to fit Hanging Around Nothing to do but frown Rainy days and Mondays always get me down What I’ve got they used to call the blues Nothing is really wrong Feeling like I don’t belong Walking around Some kind of lonely… Read more

  • dear healthy friends, i want to live too – a little covid-19 post

    Y,all, I’m sure there isn’t a soul reading this who isn’t well-versed in COVID-19, or coronavirus, by now (as we all probably should be) – and, for the love, wash your hands. As news of its spread continues, public reactions are mixed, from a state of  paranoia to total nonchalance. There is one response, though,… Read more

  • so freaking homesick – and with a new (crappy crummy bummer) diagnosis.

    Y’ALL. I have been in this hospital for six days now – and I REALLY thought I would be discharged today – but. . . NO. Hopefully tomorrow. We are still waiting on some cultures and the proper home medical equipment I need to come in. I miss spending time with my husband. I miss… Read more

  • thoughts on prednisone, moon face, Ashley Judd, & “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”

    I’ve been on prednisone for a LONG time now, y’all. Way too long, in fact. When I first fell ill with Celiac Disease in the fall of 2012, symptoms of my systemic autoimmune disease soon followed – and I soon began receiving frequent steroid injections as well as having to take courses of oral prednisone… Read more

  • finding purpose in suffering

    There’s absolutely no tidy pattern as to gets pain and who gets peace. How had I not seen that the brokenness of this world is so all-encompassing that it encompasses all of us? . . . This is the deal we all get: guaranteed suffering. It is coming, unstoppable, like time. There are graves coming,… Read more

  • some complications, keeping my head above water, and my new sidekick.

    I’ve got to keep the calm before the storm I don’t want less, I don’t want more Must bar the windows and the doors To keep me safe, to keep me warm Yeah, my life is what I’m fighting for Can’t part the sea, can’t reach the shore And my voice becomes the driving force… Read more

  • when medical care is traumatic

    It’s safe to say that going from “my right foot is really hurting and I think this may be another round of osteomyelitis” – which would have been plenty bad – to a hospital stay with sepsis and blood sugars at levels of near ketoacidosis at times, as well as absolutely unbelievable lactic acid labs… Read more

  • a fabulous birthday trip to my beloved city for my sara bug – and some not so fabulous health news. . .

    From Monday through Thursday of this past week, my Sara Bug, my Al, and I were off on a fabulous adventure to my favorite place in the world, my home, to celebrate Sara’s Sweet 16. NOLA We headed to NOLA – for Sara and Al’s first visit – and had the most amazing time. We… Read more

  • changing diagnosis.

    Write hard and clear about what hurts. – Ernest Hemingway. Since I first became really ill with autoimmune disease in 2012, it has seemed as though diagnosis have been tacked on and taken away as new symptoms have presented, an ongoing medical guessing game. This isn’t unusual for spoonies to experience. It can take years… Read more