by Kate | Jun 15, 2021 | Chronic healing, chronic illness, Strength, Surrender
We human beings like to pretend we are in control. We imagine we live in a fair and predictable universe. Part of what makes illness difficult is that we realize the opposite is true. No matter how carefully we assemble the building blocks of health, disease happens,...
by Kate | May 11, 2021 | Chronic healing, Weakness
I’ve been noticing recently that I have a scratchy, wavering old lady voice. It comes from not having enough air to project the sound. The nerve connections to my diaphragm and intercostal muscles are mostly gone, so I can’t get good breath support. (One of the things...
by Kate | Apr 22, 2021 | Chronic healing, connectedness
In six more days, I will be fully vaccinated – two Pfizer vaccine shots +2 weeks of quarantine. While I’m excited about getting to the dentist and eye doctor, I am not going back to any in-person gatherings. We are still in the midst of pandemic and I, as “a person...
by Kate | Mar 24, 2021 | Chronic healing, joy
When you are ill, especially with a serious diagnosis, it’s easy to have the sensations and the emotional fallout of it take over your life. You become the illness or the pain. Dealing with it hijacks all your energy. When it feels like that, you may have no other...
by Kate | Dec 18, 2020 | Chronic healing, Disability, monsters
December creeps on, its short days contributing to my dark mood. Shadowed, I am sure, by the pandemic and lack of festivities that result. (It seems inappropriate to celebrate with 300,000 dead in this country alone.) I’m also recognizing the emotional whiplash I...
by Kate | Oct 22, 2020 | Chronic healing, Gratitude, kind promises
I return to the topic of gratitude partly because it feels like a “should.” Rafts of psychological research tell me that it’s good for my body, mind, and soul to practice gratitude. Once I slide into gratitude, I remember that it’s also a joy! Noticing the things for...
