If so many conservative americans consider themselves “christians” (and please, correct me if I’m wrong), what is so “christian” about letting people die because they can’t afford healthcare?
10/06 2011
10/06 2011
(via verblife)
10/06 2011
Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
iheartmanoo posted this on her tumblr, so I wanted to do this questionnaire too:
Invisible Illness
Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know:
1. The illness I live with is: an autoimmune disease I don’t specify on my blog so anyone who’s autoimmune or lives with a chronic illness can relate.
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 1998.
3. But I had symptoms since: 1994, although I didn’t realize they were symptoms at the time because they mimicked stress.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: 1. Major weight gain from being bedridden for over a year coupled with a crashed thyroid. (As of this writing I’ve banished 70 pounds.) 2. Accepting what is in my control and what is not. Whether I like it or not, sometimes my body has a mind of its own and when it does, I have to let it rest (which I’m not good at).
5. Most people assume: I’m not sick because I don’t “look sick” but they don’t realize I spent almost an hour with corrective makeup to try to make myself look better…because who wants to look sick? (If they’re rude about it I say, “Thank you, it’s good to know all that time I spent covering my dark circles wasn’t wasted.”) Also, if I’m overtired or having a bad day I’m prone to vertigo and my balance is off, which sometimes makes people assume I’ve been drinking.
6. The hardest part about mornings is: Getting showered, dressed and ready for the day because I have more pain in the morning and the process takes a while because I sometimes need to stop and rest. I want that Jetsons booth that beams you dressed and ready to go! :-D
7. My favorite medical TV show is: None, aside from occasional segments about antioxidants and immune system topics.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: When I got sick I had to learn how to not care about the cell phone or email as much so I could rest, so unless I’m working on something urgent, I can go 2 or 3 days.
9. The hardest part about nights is: Falling asleep, but I was always a nightowl so I just go with it and find something to do (such as writing this during the wee hours for example). I have a family history of addiction, so I refuse to do sleep meds.
10. Each day I take pills & vitamins: I’m med-free, but after a lot of trial and error vitamins and supplements help keep me mobile.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: have much better luck with alternative treatments than I did with traditional medicine. I’m med-free and out of bed, which the MD’s were not successful at.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: Unless I can trade up for one mild, visible cold, I’ll pass on either.
13. Regarding working and career: Working with a chronic illness takes a lot more creativity and flexibility than when I was healthy, because you have to manage your illness along with everything else. I was fired from my dream job when I got sick, and some would say my career path is totally screwed because I haven’t done things the traditional way due to needing to manage my energy differently. In response I would say, screw them.
14. People would be surprised to know: I was thin and active before I got sick. They never believe it until I show them pix. Also, people are surprised to know that if you’re uninsured you CANNOT “just go to the ER” and get treated for any illness. In California and many other states the law states that, they only have to stabilize you to keep you from dying. They can and sometimes do refuse to treat you for non-life threatening illnesses, and when you are treated there’s usually no follow-up care available. (My employer fired me when I got sick and was eventually priced out of my own health insurance—long before the 2008 election.)
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: the weight gain, and finding a balance between my stubborn optimism and my illness’s near non-existent cure rate.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: reboot my thyroid and lose weight. I also didn’t think I’d ever be able to ride horses again but am working to make that happen.
17. The commercials about my illness: There are none.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: Horseback riding. I miss horses so much I’ve cried over them. Right now I don’t have the upper body strength, and my fight or flight response is wonky from central nervous system damage, which isn’t safe for me or the horse. Horses are herd animals who also have jumpy fight or flight responses, so at least one of us has to be calm and confident—preferably the one in the saddle. BUT I’m working hard to get strong enough to ride again and have set a date to ride in late May 2012.
19. It was really hard to have to give up: horseback riding, and my dream career which I worked hard to get and was starting to see results in.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: Photography. Several years ago, as an incentive toward getting more mobile I bought a 35mm camera. Also, when I was stuck in bed I discovered a love for 1930’s-1940’s movies and all things Art Deco. God bless TCM.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: Tire out everyone else first! Enjoy the feeling of not having the stress level of living with a chronic illness. Go horseback riding, watch a concert standing up the whole time without getting tired or dizzy, and do a 4.5 or 5 level difficulty Charles Fleming Los Angeles Secret Stairs walk.
22. My illness has taught me: You can handle a lot more than you think you can. It also taught me who my friends are. I’ve also learned more about the U.S. health care system than I ever cared to, including how research funding works and how to tell if a medical study seems reliable or not, and when to ignore them because the substance or supplement you’re interested in isn’t studied at all because it can’t be patented in the U.S. .
23. Want to know a secret? My joint pain sometimes makes hugs and handshakes extremely painful.
24. But I love it when people: hug me anyway (just don’t squeeze too hard, please).
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: 1.You can handle more than you think you can. 2. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be at any given moment, because there’s something to learn from it. Figure out what the lesson is, and the problem begins to fade.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: Actually I’d talk to their friends and loved ones, because it’s harder for them and they don’t know how to help. To my fellow sicko (said affectionately), I’d say if someone offers to do something for you, let them, because they may not ask again when you need it the most.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: The negative: the intense stress level of living with a chronic illness. The positive: My platonic guy friends handled it better and were more loyal than my female friends. Other than my BFF, my female friends went away quickly because I couldn’t do things with them, and I’ve never heard from any of them again. Conversely, my male friends made a point to phone and email to see how I was doing, and when they found out I was stuck in bed they phoned or messaged me regularly just to make me laugh, and they did it in a way that didn’t make me feel like a freak.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: bought me an art deco vanity table so I could sit down to get ready for the day. It changed my life—doing my makeup and hair without getting so tired allowed me to be more mobile, and it helped me find the “me” who loves makeup but hadn’t been around much when I got sick.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: This is late because I just saw this but wanted to answer the questions to spread awareness. People don’t realize the a chronic illness affects everything you do, so every aspect of your life has to be planned out in new ways so you don’t get worse and can hopefully get better.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: grateful that you took the time to read this, because people think it’s a bummer subject and prefer to turn away…but this is my life, and many other people’s lives.
10/04 2011
(via prin-cessofchina)
10/04 2011
Ingres, La Baigneuse, Louvre
You are a creation of the Universe and you are perfect exactly as you are now. If you find fault with yourself, it is only your weak, negatively conditioned ego that is judging and finding yourself inadequate.
The twisted tree in the forest is more beautiful and interesting than a perfectly straight tree planted in a perfectly straight line. There is no perfection template in Nature as there is on a factory production line.
Attacking and criticizing your body is an exercise in futility. Your body cannot be any different than it is at this moment. Know that it may be different in the future but improvement will only begin when you love and accept your body as it is now.
You cannot make any meaningful physical improvements until you accept and love your body as it is now; for when you attack and reject your body you attack your very existence. If you have internalized the idea that your body is not worth your love and nurturing then your mind will thwart every attempt at improvement. You are not going to take good care of your body if you dislike it.
You will find contentment and equilibrium when you accept yourself as you are, in this moment. Your body is a reflection of what you think about it. Your body will reach its highest potential when you love and accept it unconditionally.
Libby Pratt, Camp Biche
09/23 2011
Did you know?
I’m one of them. After hanging onto it as long as I could, I finally had to drop my insurance because the rates kept going up so high, after paying for the insurance, I couldn’t afford to go to a doctor because so little was covered. Not an easy decision by any means.
According to CDF, though most chronically ill patients have insurance, it is estimated that over 30% cannot afford their copayments.
09/23 2011
(via verblife)
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