This is a weird topic, I’m going to go right out and say it. But as someone who deals with chronic illness I think it is something that needs to be addressed.
I get sick, like a lot, and I have learned quite a bit from my body’s weakness. I don’t have the immunoglobulin to fight off infection when I get sick, so small head colds and sinus infections turn into serious pneumonia or worse pretty quickly. We didn’t discover this fact until quite late in my life, so most of my childhood was spent getting sick and people thinking I was over exaggerating or getting sick for attention.
From this I learned that very few people in this world use sickness to get attention. Humans have a natural aversion to illness both in concept and reality. So by continuing the idea that people use it for attention is dumb. From this you can learn a serious life lesson early. Very few people's opinions actually matter in the scheme of your life. Of those people you get to decide who is important and the rest don't matter. It is one of the harder things to grasp, especially as a kid but the quicker you learn it the better life is.
Another thing you learn from chronic illness is to appreciate the small things. Like when you have a sinus infection and you get a day where you can breathe clearly. It is amazing how much better your day can be if you can focus on the small positives that come from getting better. Or when you have been sick all week and you can finally stomach solid food and you get to eat the one meal you have been dreaming of since you were told you couldn’t eat. We all have one, somehow mine always ends up being Chick-fil-a. But I can tell you that being sick makes you realize how wonderful it is to be healthy and be able to enjoy something because you know what it is like without it.
The next great thing you learn from chronic illness is probably the most important, and that is perseverance through tough times. You are either weakened or toughened by your health and I like to think that even while you are weak, you’re also strong. Redundant sounding I know, but consider it. When my friends get sick they are completely useless for several days. They skip class and can barely leave their beds because they aren’t used to it. When they go to the doctor they get upset when blood needs to be drawn and rarely know their medical history. Those with chronic illness, on the other hand, can continue on even when sick, completing school and work as needed because they know how to push through. When they get to the doctor they can point out the best arm and vein to draw blood from and can recite their entire recent medical history by heart. Often those with chronic illness have even made their own appointment.
In the end, chronic illness is a life sentence, but I figure if I am going to live with it, then I am going to look at it as a learning process. Better to live a difficult life happy, rather than sad. What have you learned from your chronic illness?
