September!

It’s September, which means there are many important days for the chronically ill community coming up.

First of all, September is chronic pain awareness month.  Chronic pain refers to any pain that lasts for 12 weeks or longer.  I’ve dealt with chronic pain everyday for over twenty years now, and I can say it can be completely disabling and difficult to live with day in and day out.  Healthy people cannot truly relate to chronic pain, as it is a pain you only understand if you actually experience it.  It’s exhausting and ongoing.  Chronic pain does not just “go away” and cannot be solved by simple pain medication; it’s often something you just have to learn to deal with.  I’ve lived with pain for so many years now, that even on a “good” day, I’ve had to accept that I’ll most likely be in pain for the rest of my earthly days.  There does need to be more awareness, because so many people with chronic pain have felt their pain minimized and ignored by friends and family members, making the physical pain become emotional pain as well. 

Another important day to me and my fellow myositis warriors is September 21^st, Myositis Awareness Day.  I am hoping if my body allows to blog a little more about what a life with myositis can looks like. Myositis awareness day refers to awareness for Inclusion body myositis, polymyositis, and dermatomyositis.  I have the form of juvenile dermatomyositis.

And finally, September 28^th -October 4^th is Invisible Illness Awareness week, where people fighting multiple invisible illnesses come together to increase awareness of the many invisible illness that a person may fight.  This week includes ANY illness that people would not know, just by looking at the person, that they have a illness.  This can be any illness, from diabetes to depression to lupus to myositis.  Every person’s story is different, and some my have mildly affected quality of life issues, while others may be fighting for their lives.  The point is, a person doesn’t have to “look sick” to be sick, and often invisible illnesses are all that more frustrating because they are not validated by others, and those with invisible illness lack the proper support from their peers and feel isolated.

Because of all of this, my hope is to blog more this month.  I’ve actually been wanting to blog more, in general, but some days it’s all I can do to survive.  I’m thankful to be continuing to improve, but even on my best days I only have a few hours where I can function and keep up with stuff like my blog!  I am hoping though, as I continue to gain strength, that blogging will become more consistent! 

Thanks for reading, and I hope all my readers enjoy the upcoming entries!