I know no other life. My first childhood memory is of pain after an operation. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when I was seven years old and with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis when I was 16 years old. Also, I’ve had chronic iron deficiency anemia ever since I could remember, and asthma also plagued my life as a child and now as an adult. (I have iron infusions every now and then.)
Later, irritable bowel syndrome was added to the list. A diagnosis that took years. And even after being diagnosed, the ‘treatment’ recommended to me was the worst. Eat more wheat. Meanwhile, gluten is actually my biggest enemy. I even ended up in a British ER because of the abdominal pain. (My IBS is the constipation type and I was too busy being young and awesome to realise I was constipated till I had exploratory laparoscopic surgery and the surgeon told me, “You’re full of s—t” with a big smile. (At first I thought he was telling me I was malingering till he added, “Literally. You have spastic colon.”
Fast forward and pass some other operations, and I am then diagnosed with chronic gastritis in 2021. See a pattern here? How could I NOT call this blog ‘chronically something or the other?’
And now here we are. Ankylosing spondylitis. Something I’d never heard of till it shouted loudly in my ear, “I’M HERE!”
Someone complained that they hadn’t slept well that particular week and I wanted to snort. I haven’t slept well in decades! Arthritis and IBS are painful! Add inflammation of my stomach lining and you have someone who doesn’t know what it’s like to sleep well for a month straight.
So, that’s who I am. A chronically suffering mother and friend. And chronically Christian too. I love Him with all my heart and not a day goes by when I don’t have a chat with Him on top of my usual prayers. I’m the crazy one who used to have conversations with her angel while walking to campus as a student. I believe in God and I believe in the existence of good and bad angels.
Welcome to my life.
They said I should write a book 