the autoimmune hippie.

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

RA

  • 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

  • the waiting place.

    As I write to you, it’s 2 AM and it’s quiet here on the 12th – the top-  floor of the hospital. My sweet Sara Bug is working next to me and it’s raining hard against our window. The view is amazing. I am on inpatient Day 5, NPO, awaiting surgery on my right foot… Read more

  • a happy (hospital) valentines day to me and mine.

    Over the past several days, I have been getting progressively weaker. And still having crazy night sweats. And developing some crazy GI symptoms. And, of course, my right foot still hasn’t been healing. And my labs have been wonky. . . All of this despite the fact that I have been on some incredibly strong… 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

  • my – late – rheumatoid arthritis awareness day post.

    ***I’m posting this late – on February 5th. I had originally decided not to, since I missed Awareness Day, but I decided it’s still important to talk about. – So I’m just running a little behind as usual. 😉 Today, February 2nd, is Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Day. While I don’t talk about it as much… Read more

  • changes.

    As y’all can see, things are different here today, and, after saying for so long that I wouldn’t be a chronic illness blogger, I’ve realized that it is time to let go of those ideas. When I was reading through my friend Sara Frankl’s book, Choose Joy, a few weeks ago, she wrote this about… Read more

  • some spoonie truths.

    Today, I started my day sobbing. I misstepped on Sunday – a small one that a normal person wouldn’t even have taken note of – and some of the broken bones in my right foot shifted more – making them worse and much more painful suddenly. Since then, between the foot and scheduled appointments, I… Read more