It was as if a switch flipped. Forty-two years ago, at age eleven, I went from a normal giggly girly girl to a sick exhausted child who couldn’t function.\u00a0 My family physician ran a battery of tests and decided I had an unusually bad case of mono. The first year, I missed over 100 days of school.\u00a0 Everyone told my parents to stop coddling me.<\/p>\n
In those long years in between I was able to finish high school, but have never been able to finish college. Not working was not an option, so I had to concentrate on making a living. I’ve always been able to hold down a full-time job, but have been very grateful for the Family Medical Leave Act. Like so many of us, I have also developed fibromyalgia.\u00a0 I have periods of ME\/CFS remission that can last up to three years before relapse.\u00a0 In my forties, I was blessed with a loving, amazing husband.\u00a0 I never had children and, while I deeply regret that, I also can’t imagine trying to care for myself AND a child.<\/p>\n
This life has made me very empathetic with others.\u00a0 About 25 years ago, I fell into a job as a medical secretary at a teaching hospital.\u00a0 This blessed me in so many ways! I worked on a cancer unit and was reminded daily that I was in great shape compared to those I saw every day. I learned to ask more and better questions.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had excellent medical care and health insurance.
\nFinally, I have to thank God that I was led to alternative medicine.\u00a0 I was referred to an acupuncturist.\u00a0 Routine treatments improved my stamina, my immune system, and my pain. Believe me, my body reminds me when I’m due for a tune-up!<\/p>\n
At 53, I am in pretty good shape (comparably). Many others don’t share my opinion, but they haven’t lived in my body. I didn’t think I’d make it to 50. So, to me every day I can vacuum, walk my dogs, bake homemade bread, kiss my husband, or give a great day’s work, I am pretty happy.\u00a0 When my days are painful, I have to remind myself of how far I’ve come. Some days those conversations don’t go so well.\u00a0 Fortunately, those days are not as frequent.<\/p>\n
God bless all of us. Let’s keep praying for treatments that work!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Humans of ME\/CFS It was as if a switch flipped. Forty-two years ago, at age eleven, I went from a normal giggly girly girl to a sick exhausted child who couldn’t function.\u00a0 My family physician ran a battery of tests and decided I had an unusually bad case of mono. The first year, I missed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/mary_v.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humansofchronicillness.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}