Today marks the 50th anniversary of the return of the Apollo 13 astronauts to earth. So, in true Hollywood form, there have been documentaries and space movies on all day - and in true Shawn form, the stories have me comparing chronic sickness to the "successful failures" of space travel. In all these stories, there…
I started a new therapy to try to address Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. There's always a level of excitedment that comes with new treatment protocols. I want to be hopeful, and I felt the effects of the first dose almost immediately so that hope is definitely on the rise. BUT there is also a level…
You would think my hardest days are the ones when I am curled up in a ball in bed, crying in pain and throwing up. They're not. The hardest days are the ones when I'm stuck in bed with mild symptoms - headache, nausea, fatigue and weakness. On those days, it's the mental battle that…
In the movie Anna and the King, a woman asks Anna about losing her husband: "How did you survive?" To which Anna replied, "The same way you will, one awful day at a time." I see a lot of people panicking right now - our local schools are shut down, even though we don't have…
Cast away is one of my favorite movies and even though there is an obvious connection to sickness leaving me stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere with power over nothing, it still moves me to stay alive, keep breathing, against all hope and logic. I don't want to die - but sometimes…
Some days, I wake up a little slow and weak but with coffee and a little time, pain starts to decrease and I start to feel a little energy. It's exciting to think I may be able to accomplish even simple tasks like making breakfast and doing dishes or laundry. Defeat: prevent (someone) from achieving…
I first started this blog partly because I couldn't find other Lyme stories that really talked about the bad times. I get it, we want to be seen as pillars of strength and we fight to focus on the positive things in life, helping others cling to hope. That's noble, but I want to know…
We all have those people who cross the line from time to time and treat us with less love and respect than they should. Sometimes, that line crossing turns into a pattern of bad behavior that is unhealthy for both parties. When this happens, it's imperative to find ways to set boundaries. Setting boundaries is…
I drove through the town of Paradise the other day - the town that was ravished last November by a vicious fire. It was intensely humbling to see the destruction and devastation. Entire streets had been completely leveled - homes gone, debris cleared leaving only dirt and driveways.My friends home - gone Some streets would…
One of the hardest things I've had to adjust to as a chronically ill person is balancing the various worlds I live in. I live in 7 worlds. Occasionally two or three of these worlds harmoniously overlap, but more often than not, these distinct worlds live in extreme competition with each other. 1.) Faith in,…
PhilippiJoy 