There is a sort of wisdom that comes from being chronically sick. At least it feels like it anyway. If you’ve ever had the flu, pneumonia, or anything else that kept you in bed for a few days, you’ve caught a glimpse of it. It’s like you step outside of your life and you get to look at it more objectively. That part is actually cool. Especially when you’re not sure you’ll recover, you get to find out how you feel about your life on the whole.
At this point, I’d been on disability for about 4 months. I wasn’t going to work and I couldn’t go out socially anymore. I just sat at home feeling lousy and thinking about my life. Luckily, I was happy with the result when I really took a look at things. I had a great relationship, great friends and family, and I’d travelled enough to not feel like I’d been missed out on seeing the world.
That’s one of the few benefits of having a chronic disease. I’ve had Crohn’s Disease since I was 11. I’ve never been able to rely on my health, so I’ve taken a lot of risks and lived in a way that I’d be content with my life overall. The downside of that is that I don’t handle lulls very well. I love having adventures, but I get antsy when things are just normal and I don’t have anything planned.
Oh, and if you’ve never seen Bob’s Burgers, I highly recommend it.