This month’s Blogger Linkup, My Chronic Life Adventures is now available in audio! Press play to listen or scroll to continue reading.
It’s been a while since I have posted a personal update, so for this month’s blogger linkup, I am sharing my chronic life adventures or, in more appropriate terms, lack of adventure.
Everyone thinks we, the chronically ill, should be accustomed to lockdown life or used to not going anywhere. What they don’t understand are the ways that even I didn’t expect the virus to affect my life.
Pandemic life in California while living with chronic illness and pain has been anything but normal. Up is down, and right is left. Nothing makes sense.
Don’t worry; this post isn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, I have quite a bit to be thankful for and laugh about.
Each month, Sheryl from A Chronic Voice linkup shares 5 prompts. I not only love seeing where these prompts take me but how they relate to other chronic illness bloggers as well. See the link at the end of this post to read everyone’s submissions.
Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission to fund my coffee drinking habit if you use these links to make a purchase. You will not be charged extra, and you’ll keep me supplied with caffeine. It’s a win for everyone.
Unlocking
California is not only still under some form of a lockdown, but the majority of our counties have been sent back to a modified version of stage one!
Without fail, the abdominal pain that would have made it impossible to go anywhere anyways decreased just as we were sent back to a modified version of stage one. Talk about frustrating!!
Pre-pandemic life, I could make the most of my pain relief. Not being able to get my pain and extent of lockdown in sync means doing very little out of the house.
As I have shared before, whatever is going on in my abdomen is causing a great deal of pain and fatigue. Both of which prevent my ability to walk for more than a few minutes. My husband and I are on a mission to unlock my freedom by purchasing a powered wheelchair. We are researching and comparing chairs now and will be purchasing one next month.
My patience is being tested as I wait for my optometrist to unlock their doors. I require prescription sunglasses, and my outdated prescription isn’t cutting it anymore.
When I last updated my regular glasses, only the reading part of my progressive lenses changed. Since I don’t use progressive lenses in my sunglasses and my vision for distance hadn’t changed, I didn’t get a new pair.
I never felt the need to wear sunglasses before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis. But since the fall of 2003, my eyes have become increasingly sensitive to sunlight, making sunglasses a necessity. Hence, my purchase of old lady wear-over glasses sunglasses.
Who knows, maybe I will start a new fashion trend. Fingers crossed that my regular glasses don’t break otherwise I will end up looking like Urkle or walking around like Mr. Magoo! Ha Ha!
Limiting
I am limiting the extent that I pushed my body. Doing so allows me to live with less pain. I wish my pain was from fibromyalgia or psoriatic arthritis because I know how to reduce that. In fact, it’s PEMFtherapy with Oska Pulse that is keeping the rest of my body from completely freaking out over what is going on in my abdomen.
Between COVID and my abdominal pain, my time away from home has been greatly limited. It’s obviously impossible to avoid the virus 100%, but I go where precautions are being made when I do go out. One visit was to Downtown Disney District, where I felt safer than anywhere else I have been. You can read about that experience here. Other than that, I only go grocery shopping and always wear a mask.
Studying
The past few years have been spent studying my body. The past five months have been no different. A few years ago, I learned how to significantly decrease some forms of inflammation in my body. I am slowly learning what movements and/or actions increase/decrease my abdominal issues.
Years of living with chronic illness/pain have taught me to be adaptable. I may not always like the changes or modifications that make my life less painful, but I do it because less pain is the end goal.
Watching
What have I been watching? It is safe to say that my household is definitely getting its money’s worth on all of our streaming services.
Here are some streaming highlights of the past month:
Disney+
- Hamilton – Watched daily for the first two weeks and at least 3 times a week since. I seriously cannot get enough of this musical!!!!!
- Every Star Wars movie
- Every Marvel movie
- Toy Story 1,2,3,4
- Cars 1,2,3
- Frozen 1 and 2
- Moana
- Beauty and the Beast
- Clone Wars
Hulu
I finally had time to catch up on series I had fallen behind on.
- Real Housewives of New Jersey
- Real Housewives of Potomac
- Perfect Harmony
- Coronation Street
- Ugly Betty – How did I miss this when it aired??!!!
- Good Girls
- Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
Netflix
- Better Call Saul
- The Last Dance
- Jeffery Epstein: Filthy Rich
Healing
Healing isn’t always a physical act.
Recently healing has been taking place in the form of forgiveness. I have had to forgive my body for the pain that it is in. Being angry over something that could not have been prevented is not how I want to spend my days and nights.
Healing is not always a physical act. #physicalhealing is not always an option. But it is not a reason to stop living.
Tweet
I know and accept that I won’t be healed. Unfortunately, most of my friends and family who don’t live with me are constantly offering advice on healing my body. I am incurable. Making modifications is not a sign of giving up. It signals that I am doing everything I can to make my life the best I can.
How do these prompts apply to your chronic life?
Read more submissions and/or join the party!
Read all of my linkup submissions!
Lovely entry and I agree! I love these link-up parties too, just to see what everyone else is up to.
I hope you are able to find out what is happening with your abdomen soon. That kind of pain is brutal and it affects me the same way. I can barely be upright. I don’t want to say that I look forward to seeing your new powered wheelchair purchase simply because it’s awful to have to purchase yet another mobility aid, but I will be looking to see what you get. Sending gentle hugs and spoons!
I’m so looking forward to getting my power chair. I attempted a quick trip through the grocery store on foot the other day and almost passed out in the store. It will be nice to get around independently. While I appreciate my family pushing me my manual wheelchair, I hate feeling so dependent. I’m so sorry you have the same pain. Sending gentle hugs and spoons right back at you!
I’ve also been working on healing through forgiveness. I’ve also received a lot of pressure from others to heal physically in ways that are impossible. It’s a lot to carry, so I’m working on letting it go.
Carrying the weight of other’s expectations is too much. Wishing you lots of peace while letting go. Hugs
It can definitely be frustrating, to say the least, when friends and family try to tell you how to heal. I always try and remember they are coming from a good place, but it’s still annoying to know that I am trying my best and that perhaps they think I’m not.
Soooo frustrating, especially when it’s every conversation. I can brush off the occasional attempt, but some people are relentless.