Coping with Chronic Illness

I remember the day I was officially diagnosed with a Dysautonomia. My husband and I were overwhelmed with questions, information, and emotions. I was scribbling down notes and trying to remember everything. 

That was a much anticipated appointment. The specialist was about a 15 hour drive from home and a bit of a celebrity in the Dysautonomia world. We knew we had limited time to get the answers to questions we had been asking for over a year.

I found the notes from that appointment today. While flipping through them I remembered all the mixed emotions from that day. I was part worried he would say that I did in fact have Dysautonomia and part worried he’d say that I didn't. I didn't want to have any type of illness, but it was inevitable that something was wrong and I figured it would be easier to have what this doctor in front of me specialized in than to have to start over somewhere else.

After some time looking through the notes I started to remember more specific thoughts during that conversation. Mostly about a small part of the three hour appointment when he spoke to us about some things I might feel after everything sunk in.

*Denial and Grief – Done. Felt that when the very first doc said “You should see a cardiologist as soon as possible.”

* Relief of a Diagnosis – Done. Hell I was down-right excited to have words for how I felt other than “I don’t feel good.”

* Empowered – Done. I was learning what exactly was happening to me and why. I was empowered that day.

* Depression – Skip. No need for that one, I have an awesome husband who is supportive and wonderful family and friends.

* Acceptance – Awesome. I am already becoming empowered; acceptance should be what, maybe a few weeks away.

Clearly I saw these things that I might feel as a check list that I could run through.

What I clearly had was no idea how coping with a chronic illness worked.

I would say most people assume that because I am open about having a chronic illness and do my best to bring awareness to Dysautonomia that I am empowered and accept it. I have actually had someone say “You seem to embrace it”. It felt like the time to shed light on what coping with chronic illness has been like for me thus far.

Denial

I was not as safe from it as I had previously thought. Apparently even when you know the information and have had almost all the tests done (still waiting on those cool Mayo Clinic tests) denial can work its way in.  I am in the process of three things that will hopefully improve my quality of life; a trip to the Mayo Clinic, a power wheelchair, and regular IV therapy.

I cannot convey how many times I have doubted myself while moving towards these things. Negative thoughts have caused me to put off moving forward with treatment options because I would think to myself that I can’t really need it that badly. Why in the world would someone second guess something to improve their quality of life, things their doctor has suggested? Because you're in denial.

Denial and I are picking up lunch at the Just Mildly Medicated Cafe

apparently you don't get to revise the menu ...

Relief of a Diagnosis

That part was very true. I was actually happy for weeks after that appointment. Not only was it not just in my head but I wasn't lazy or over dramatic. I had an answer, actual words I could say. “I am sorry guys, I can’t make the festival this year. It is too much walking around with Dysautonomia.” Instead of saying yes and worrying if I would get dizzy or feel sick and seem distant or annoyed.

Then all of a sudden the back lash hit. Now that I have a diagnosis I actually have something, and the something has no return policy. I was overwhelmed with the concept of being sick for real. Laziness is mind over matter… your Autonomic Nervous System is matter over mind. Even Bruce Banner couldn't control his heart rate. In all seriousness this realization was the beginning of the next stage.

Grief 

I became sick slowly over a span of a few years. I felt like I had time to adjust to my new normal instead of a sudden onset. For the most part that was true. I was prepared, if at all, to grieve about what I used to be able to do.  All of a sudden one day I realized I wouldn't go back to work the way I had assumed I would. 

That isn't to say I am not a functioning productive citizen because I am, but it wasn't going to be in the way I had assumed. I spent time grieving an idea, and that did lead to a bit of depression.

Depression 

Depression for me wasn't what I expected. It reared in an angrier version of sad, or a bitter unexpected manifesto of the two. I second guessed my life, my very happy life as a wife and mother of four. If I had made other choices maybe I wouldn't have triggered this slow progression that has now consumed so much. 

Empowerment

Empowerment did come through researching, writing, and connecting. Blogging as well as reading other blogs and getting to know others who have medical issues, those have been outlets to express and learn. It has given a value to going through all of this. I still don’t feel so warm and fuzzy about Dysautonomia.

Acceptance 

This one seems a foggy illusion. It's like the way you prep for a conversation and run it through your head only when the time comes no one says what you thought they would and you’d like to hit some kind of rewind to keep things on track better. I think acceptance can be a particularly hard one for me because others assume I am there. I mean how could I write about this nonstop if I don’t accept it? I think the answer is because I am in the hopes it helps me get there.

The biggest thing I’d want to share is that my original view, the check list version of the stages, it just isn't how it works. Acceptance isn't a location you arrive at and think ‘wow that was a long drive’.  It is normal to transition back and forth through these stages, sometimes quickly. I've had denial, acceptance, and more denial all over one specific thing in one day. You can assume you will be impacted in one way, like I did with grieving, and it actually happens in a way you never considered. It is a roller coaster.

How has your journey been different than you expected?

*These stages are from a conversation with one specialist where many other medical issues were covered. This is in no way meant to be the psychological guideline of dealing with an illness but more of a personal evaluation of my own experience.

** If you feel you have been in any stage for a period of time that is causing a negative impact on yourself or those around you seek out you physicians help. 

Funny Friday: My Facebook friends are asses.

My Facebook friends are asses, kind of awesome asses but yep, asses.

I came out of a chronic illness fog and took a shower, added some fake tanning lotion so I could look a bit more like part of the living world, and actually did my hair. I admit I lost the energy for the effort and threw on a T-shirt and pajama pants and and didn't even consider make up, but the point is I was more together than normal. Now as my chronic illness peeps know this is a feat for celebration. I needed photographic evidence that I was out of a zombie-like trance. 

My photographer is four years old so most of the pics were of my leg or had such a blurry artistic edge I was unidentifiable. So like any 16 year old (or mom with no one around to take a picture) I selfied. 

Selfie - A picture taken of yourself that is planned to be uploaded to Facebook, Myspace or any other sort of social networking website. You can usually see the person's arm holding out the camera in which case you can clearly tell that this person does not have any friends to take pictures of them so they resort to Myspace to find internet friends and post pictures of themselves, taken by themselves.

Urbandictionary.com

Ouch Urban Dictionary, I can't help it that I am home alone geesh!

So on to how my Facebook friends are asses. I mean they are actually awesome but for the record in this post they are asses. I trusted them, I really trusted them. I cannot believe they have put me in this position. 

What position you ask... 

The position of looking like the crazy lady that brings her dog to Walmart for a photo session. Okay dog lovers, I don't mean PetSmart photos with Santa or even family photo with your dog included, I am all about that. I mean blue back drop with a "photographer" telling you to look off in the distance (that would be the dog) creating a cheap kind of creepy image. 

I am not fishing for compliments, I think its kind of cute... dog looks a tad stoned after looking at it too much during this middle of the night review. For all intent and purposes it is a fine photo and once almost 40 of the Facebook asses liked or commented on it I thought to myslef "self, lets make it a profile pic." 

Well as you know profile pics are tiny, and it looked even more portrait studio crazy.

So I updated my status "I just noticed my profile pic looks like a goofy walmart photo backdrop... it's a denim couch. You would have told me if I look like walmart photo girl right? Hmm can I really trust you? "

So as of now you are thinking holy narcissism woman, who cares about your selfie Facebook picture. I promise it is worth it. 

My Facebook friends (who are asses because they didn't mention this BEFORE) pretty much confirmed my suspicions.  I continued it further by really deciding if it was bad 80's creepy photo or more of a school picture. 

That is when the awesomeness ensued...

I kid you not, this is where the asses became the awesome.

I was sent this...

Oh yes and this...

Then this...

If you were wondering I am leaving the original as a profile picture for awhile. Mostly because I don't feel like showering and doing my hair in the same day but also because it reminds me that my friends are asses, but awesome asses! 

HOUR LATER UPDATE: My amazing blogging buddy pal saw this and said "I did tell you that. I made a Walmart comment." Sure enough on the original pic in with the comments was "Vicky the awesome chick from The Pursuit of Normal "Wow! Walmart had some creative backgrounds. Just kidding;)"

Diane Sawyer arranged for my Service Dog

It all started almost a year ago with a phone call from my sister in law. She happened to be watching Diane Sawyer on ABC World News and saw that the upcoming story was on service dogs being trained for people who faint. She called me, my sister in law... not Diane Sawyer... I put ABC World News on then I called my dad and we all watched it. 

Link: Dog Saves Owner From Fainting Could a dog's sense of smell help monitor blood pressure?

Canine Partners for Life has trainers who work with potential cardiac alert dogs. The hope is to detect the drop in BP that happens right before a person becomes symptomatic. They never mention what the young woman in this interview suffers from but it is clearly Orthostatic Intolerance, mostly likely Hypotension since all of the emphasis was on blood pressure and not heart rate. 

I called CPL and we spoke about my medical issues and symptoms and they sent an application packet. It took me almost a week to fill out the 8 pages of questions, have friends write reference letters (thanks Dawn and Meredith) and I had to write two essays. I wrote the check for the application fee and printed off 3 photos of my family and I as they requested, and it was in the mail. 

CPL reviewed my application and they felt they could train a dog for me. I was accepted to the program but it was far from a done deal though. We had a SKYPE interview to go over more details. Murphy's Law, the connection was less than desirable but we were able to finish the conversation. During the interview we talked more about what I like to do, places I like to go, as well as my ability to care for a dog physically, emotionally, as well as financially. 

The next step was a letter from my Neurologist, he was more than willing to fill out the paperwork with additional information he thought would be helpful. Then it became official, my name now sits on a wait list at Canine Partners for Life. Then I bit of anxiety, how different will life be with a service dog, how long will my wait be, do I really need this to improve my quality of life... I am sure someone could use it more than me. Ahhh, that last line, so true. I have a non stop internal battle with really believing this is my situation but that is a whole different post.

Because I have a child with a dog allergy we have to wait longer than the average person on the list, waiting for not only a poodle or poodle mix when they work mostly with retrievers but a poodle or poodle mix with a knack for potential cardiac alert could be years from now. So far I am almost at one year into my wait. Every six months there is some type of update to do. At my six month mark it was a detailed journal of episodes and I am coming due again for my next assignment. I knew it was too soon but I couldn't help inquiring, the matches for the summer session have already been made.

Some really great news is that as we have sat this last year on the wait list at Canine Partners for Life our family dog has started alerting to my episodes. Now Maggie the Goldendoodle is no official alert dog, she alerts to pizza just as well as an episode. I am pretty sure if pizza was in the same room as me having an episode she wouldn't look twice at me. 

When its quiet in the house and she is paying attention to me, and not napping on the couch, she will alert and it gives me the 5 to 10 seconds that can make a difference in getting to a better location. We are working with Maggie's training so she can focus her alerts a bit more consistently while we wait for my service dog. 

This is our family pet Maggie the Goldendoodle. The way she noses my hand when it starts is what she starts doing before my episodes. 

There is still a long wait but it is helpful to have Maggie doing her part now though I do look forward to someday having a dog trained to focus on me, even more so than pizza. I will keep you posted on Maggie's training to see if she can fine tune this natural skill as well as our journey to receiving a service dog.

training hard

I think I might have that crazy Dysautonomia thing that you keep talking about, so what now?

Just Mildly Medicated's FAQ about Dysautonomia

I will add to it and repost it as questions come up. If nothing else Chronic Illness is a learning process.

**I am not a Doctor, Lawyer, Baker, or even a Candlestick Maker. These are answers from my personal experience with my type of Dysautonomia, talking with my doctors, as well as from reputable sources which are linked back so you may read more from them if you would like.**

Q. What is Dysautonomia?

Dysautonomia International defines Dysautonomia as an umbrella term used to describe various conditions that cause a malfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System. The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) controls most of the essential functions of the body that we do not consciously think about, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, dilation and constriction of the pupils of the eye and temperature control.

Q. What are the symptoms of Dysautonomia?

A. There are a wide variety of symptoms of Dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is a large umbrella term for dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System. The following list is from a post on Just Mildly Medicated that was a tongue and cheek jab at life with the symptoms of Dysautonomia and the side effects of the medications. You can also find a list of symptoms on Dysautonomia Information Network here.

Dizziness, Tachycardia, Bradycardia, Exercise intolerance, Clamminess, Anxiety, Flushing, Postprandial hypotension, Blood pooling in limbs, Intolerance to heat, Feeling cold all over, Low blood pressure upon standing, Cognitive impairment (may include difficulties with concentration, brain fog, memory and/or word recall), Narrowing of upright pulse pressure, Hypovolemia, High blood pressure, Hyperventilation, Numbness or tingling sensations, Reduced pulse pressure upon standing, Low back pain,Aching neck and shoulders , Noise sensitivity, Light Sensitivity, Disequilibrium, Disabling Fatigue, Sleep disorders, Headache/migraine, Myofascial pain, Neuropathic pain, Bloating after meals, Nausea, Vomiting, Abdominal pain, Diarrhea, Constipation, Bladder dysfunction, Pupillary dysfunction , Blurred Vision, Tunnel vision, Arrhythmia, Chemical sensitivities, Easily over-stimulated, Food allergies/sensitivities, Irregular menstrual cycles, Loss of appetite, Loss of sex drive,Muscle aches and/or joint pains, and Swollen nodules/lymph nodes, Polydipsia (excessive thirst)

Q. Do I just tell my doctor I think I have Dysautonomia?

A. In short yes. Let them know why you think you may have Dysautonomia, be sure to write down the symptoms you experience so you don’t draw a blank when you get there.

When you go to the doctor they take your vitals one time while sitting down, people with Dysautonomia usually have abnormal swings in blood pressure and or heart rate after standing for a few minutes (Orthostatic Intolerance). If your doctor doesn't offer to do this on his or her own you may want to suggest it.  

I personally recommend doing your own Poor Man Tilt Table Test several different times over a few days and keep track of the numbers to bring in with you.

Q. What is a Poor Man Tilt Table Test and how can I do it?

A. The Poor Man TTT is an easy way to see if your BP and HR have a normal reaction to standing. I bought my blood pressure and heart rate wrist cuff at Wal-Mart for around $40. I do it the same way it was done in my Neurologist’s office. Lie down for about 3 to 5 minutes and take BP (I take a photo of my results with my cell phone). Then stand in a relaxed way and take it again at 3, 5, and 10 minutes.

You are looking for a change in blood pressure, usually a drop but possibly a rise, of 20/10 from your resting blood pressure or a jump in heart rate of 30 beats per minute or over.

Downside to poor man Tilt Table Test are that you are weight bearing when standing up and have a range of motion to monitor your BP and HR. The results will not be exactly the same as a TTT at a medical facility.

here is my own BP drop of 21/10 after 5 minutes after standing

here is my own HR increase of 31 after 3 minutes after standing

Q. How is Dysautonomia diagnosed?

A Tilt Table Test is the most common test done for diagnosing Dysautonomia. You will lie down on a secured table and have vitals taken over a period of time. You are then raised at an upright angle but non-weight bearing and they continue to monitor your HR and BP, usually for 45 minutes.

Other tests you may be asked to do are ECG, EEG, and wearing a Holter Monitor. Less common tests, usually done as facilities such as the Mayo Clinic, are Quantitative Sudomotor Autonomic Reflex Testing (QSART) and Thermoregulatory Sweat Test. I wrote about these tests after talking to my Neurologist.

Q. What type of doctor treats Dysautonomia?

A. Best case scenario you will end up with a team. Your Primary Care Physician usually starts you off with a referral to cardiology as well as neurology.  Depending on your symptoms your team my include specialists like an Allergist, Gastroenterologist, and an EP Cardiologist.  As for who will end up handling most of you treatment for Dysautonomia that will depend more on the doctor specifically and less on the type of doctor they are.

Q. Are there Dysautonomia Specialists?

A. Though few and far between there are doctors and facilities that specialize in treating Dysautonomia. Here a few in the US I know of.

POTS Treatment Center in Dallas, Texas
Vanderbilt Autonomic Dysfunction Center in Nashville, Tennessee
Dr. Grubb in Toledo, Ohio
Dr. Randy Thompson in Pensacola, Florida

You can find a list of doctors who are familiar and have experience treating Dysautonomia on the Dysautonomia Information Network website.           

Q. What specialists do you see?

A. As of now I have an EP Cardiologist, a Neurologist, and Dr. Thompson is my Dysautonomia Specialist.

Q. What can I expect as far as treatment?

A. Some popular non pharmaceutical treatment options are compression wear, my personal favorite compression wear is Juzo. Salt loading is very important with Dysautonomia, I wrote about salt loading and what exactly it means here. Drinking enough water is also important with Dysautonomia, most specialist recommend 64oz to 72oz a day.

As far as medications you can expect to discuss beta blockers, Florinef, for hyperadrenergic POTS  phenobarbital, vasoconstrictors, as well as saline IV therapy. Again, I am not a physician and by no means am saying you need these medications for the treatment of Dysautonomia, just that they are commonly discussed.

Q. Is this hereditary, how did I end up with Dysautonomia?

A. There is such a wide range of how a person can end up living with Dysautonomia. It can be much like casting a net to figure out the cause. Many varieties run in families and researchers agree it can be hereditary. For some people symptoms begin after an event like a virus or a trauma, others find they have autonomic issues in relation to other illnesses such as Chronic Fatigue and Lupus.  

Q. My family just doesn't seem to understand what is happening to me, how can I help them understand?

A. You have a few options and if you can base how you approach sharing information with how you think they will best receive it. The What is Dysautonomia brochure from Dysautonomia International can be helpful. The Spoon Theory written by Christine Miserandino helps give a tangible explanation to life with a Chronic Illness. The Changes documentary is very informative and the information comes directly from medical professionals.

Q. My doctor said I probably have POTS, but hasn't been able to answer what type of POTS I have. How do I know?

A. I understand this frustration and it is actually a very common in the world of Dysautonomia. Patients are left to find out on their own that there are in fact different types of POTS. In short there is:

Partial Dysautonomia, PD - thought to be autoimmune and brought on by something specific like pregnancy, virus, accident etc..

Hyperadrenergic -this is more slow growing and progressive, a bit of a stronger version where you see tremors and the more fight than flight response

Secondary -POTS is more of a side effect of another medical issue

Now this is just for POTS specifically and POTS is again just one type of Dysautonomia. Many people wont fall into a clear type. For example I have Pure Autonomic Failure so POTS would be secondary, mine has been a slow progression and includes the classic hyperadrenergic traits.

The following is from Dr. Grubb and can be seen in it entirety at the American Heart Association.

The most frequent form of primary POTS is the “partial dysautonomic” (or PD) form. These patients appear to suffer from a mild form of peripheral autonomic neuropathy characterized by the inability of the peripheral vasculature (especially the nervous system) to maintain adequate vascular resistance in the face of gravitational stress. This leads to a much greater than normal degree of blood pooling in the dependent areas of the body (legs, lower arms, and the mesenteric vasculature) while upright. The sequestration of blood away from the central vasculature elicits a compensatory increase in heart rate and myocardial contractility in an attempt to maintain cerebral perfusion at constant levels. Whereas the increase in heart rate and inotropy may initially be compensatory, the extent of peripheral venous pooling can continue to increase over time and exceed this compensatory effect. The patient then becomes increasingly dependent on the skeletal muscle pump to augment venous return and maintain adequate blood pressure. However, the degree of venous pooling may continue to increase and overcome this compensatory effect as well. A roughly 5:1 female to male ratio exists in this form of POTS. Many of these patients report that their symptoms begin after an acute febrile illness (presumed to be viral), as well as after pregnancy, surgery, sepsis, or trauma. It is presently felt that in many patients this form of POTS is an autoimmune disorder.

A second (and less frequent) form of POTS is termed the “hyperadrenergic” form.These patients often describe a more gradual and progressive emergence of symptoms over time rather then an abrupt onset. Patients with hyperadrenergic POTS often complain of significant tremor, anxiety, and cold sweaty extremities while upright. Over half of these patients experience migraine headaches as well as a significant increase in urinary output after being upright for only a short period of time. A characteristic of this form of POTS is that patients will often display orthostatic hypertension in addition to orthostatic tachycardia. Many will also have an exaggerated response to intravenous isoproterenol, as well as significantly elevated serum norepinephrine levels (>600 ng/mL) on standing. The disorder often has a strong family history. A study by Shannon et al found that some patients have a single point mutation that produces a poorly functioning reuptake transporter protein that recycles norepinephrine within the intrasynaptic cleft.¹ This process leads to an excessive degree of norepinephrine serum spillover in response to a number of sympathetic stimuli, producing a “hyperadrenergic” state (similar to that seen in pheochromocytoma).

The term secondary POTS is used to describe a variety of conditions that produce a state of peripheral autonomic deinnervation or vascular unresponsiveness with relative sparing of cardiac innervation. A frequent cause of secondary POTS is chronic diabetes mellitus. However, it also may be seen in association with amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, alcoholism, lupus, Sjögren syndrome, chemotherapy, and heavy metal poisoning.

In some patients, POTS may be the presenting picture of a more severe autonomic nervous system disorder such as pure autonomic failure or multiple system atrophy. POTS can also be a form of paraneoplastic syndrome that can be seen with adenocarcinomas of the lung, breast, ovary, and pancreas. It has been reported that these tumors produce autoantibodies to the acetylcholine receptors of the autonomic ganglia similar to those identified in the postviral syndromes.

Q. I joined a Dysautonomia group and I have no idea what all the acronyms mean, help.

A. As an Army wife I live for acronyms! This is by no means all the acronyms associated with Dysautonomia and we can add to it if you think of one that should be included.

ANS                       Autonomic Nervous System

Types of Dysautonomia and/or symptoms:

POTS              Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia- heart rate increase of 30 beats per minute (bpm) or     more, or over 120 bpm, within the first 10minutes of standing

OI                   Orthostatic Intolerance – an abnormal change in heart rate and or blood pressure when standing

OH                  Orthostatic Hypotension – drop of more than 20/10 in BP after standing

PAF                 Pure Autonomic Failure -a disorder of the autonomic nervous system, also  called  Bradbury-Eggleston Syndrome

MSA               Multiple System Atrophy - rare neurological conditionin the same category as PAF and Parkinson’s Disease

NCS               Neurocardiogenic Syncope- a decrease in blood pressure, and a slow or lowered heart rate upon standing

NMS               NeurallyMedicated Syncope – New name for NCS

FD                   Familial Dysautonomia- exceptionally raregenetic disorder, I admittedly know very little about FD

IST                  Inappropriate SinusTachycardia - a rare type of fastcardiac arrhythmia for no reason

ISB                  Inappropriate SinusBradycardia - a rare type of slow cardiac arrhythmia for no reason

EDS                 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - group of connective tissue disorders

MVP                MitroValve Prolaspe – a valve that does not close properly

CFS                Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - persistent fatigue lasting more than six months

SVT                Supraventricular Tachycardia – a rapid heart rhythm for no reason

Tests relating to Dysautonomia

TTT                         TiltTable Test

QSART                  Quantitative Sudmotor Axon Reflex Test

TST                         Thermoregulatory Sweat Test

ECG                        Electrocardiogram

EEG                        Electroencephalography

Q. I love your Blog and all but where can I find other sources of information?

A. The Dysautonomia Sites I frequently visit:

Informative Sites:

Dysautonomia International

Dysautonomia Information Network


Great Blogs to get your information and a laugh or two:

You could always just stay right here ;)

Living with Bob (Dysautonomia)

Musings of a Dysautonomiac

Sometimes Helpless Never Hopeless


Do you have a question about Dysautonomia? Did you have a question that you'd like included to help others? Let me know.

WEGO Wordless (or wordy) Wednesday

Update 5/2/2013: I love all the spammy comments this posts attracts, they will all stay up for my amusement.  I encourage readers to comment on their favorite spam comment.

Liebster Style

Liebster Style <breaks into Gangnam dance>

You find out what this crazy Liebster Blogger Award is all about by clicking here to see the first time I was nominated.

This time my new Bloggy Buddy Kimmy K from A Mom's Point of View tossed the ole Liebster award at me, and they are heavy!

Questions from Kimmy K

1. What made me decide to start blogging? Like most people I wanted a place that was mine to write and I hoped others would want to read it.

2. How often do you write a blog post? Well that is tricky, when I am not involved in anything I shoot for a post on Chronic Illness once a week and a funny mommy life once a week. Right now I am in WEGO Health's Activist Writers Challenge so I am in the midst of 'assignments'.

3. Do you have children? How many? I have 4 kiddos, as of now they are 18, 10, 7 and 4.

4. What is your favorite book? Ugg this question stresses me out. I read so much that my favorites are ever changing. I'd say pretty much anything Jodi Picoult will stand my test of time. Right now I am reading Cassandra Clare's newest book and I am loving it!

5. Do you read ebooks or paper? I am almost sad to say ebooks. I love paper but the immediate gratification of having the next book in seconds is just too appealing!

6. How long could you live without electricity? Well, I've been watching Revolution and I am thinking it would be life altering but totally doable.

7. One word to describe your personality. hmm, maybe determined

8. Are you a Dog or Cat person? Dog! I don't dislike cats but I think the relationship between a dog and person is amazing.

9. Have you bought a tablet yet? Yep, I am an iPad gal.

10. Apple or Android? We are a house divided but I am Apple.

11. Facebook or Google+? Facebook 100%, I forget I have a Google+.


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WEGO Health; How The Spoon Theory touched my family

Oh WEGO Health you keep me busy.
"Write a comment about someone else's blog post as your blog post"

The post that has by far had the biggest impact on me would be Christine Miserandino's Spoon Theory from But You Don't Look Sick. 

Christine was able to take an exchange between friends that has resonated and become identifiable to so many, it was a true gift shared. The Spoon Theory has given a tangible presence to Chronic Illness, something people with medical conditions that are not seen by others truly need.

My husband sat in doctors appointments with me and had an understanding that I was not well, after reading The Spoon Theory his understanding developed and turned into an empathy and support one could only hope for in a partner.


If you are not familiar please take the time to visit The Spoon Theory
Who have you shared The Spoon Theory with? Was it helpful?