Illness!
No doubt about it. When young or old get sick, real sick, all bets are off.
Recently I’ve posted about my debilitating bout with fibromyalgia. The best way to describe what I was feeling was escalating chronic pain, and fatigue that accompanied me from my first sip of green tea…until I laid me down to sleep.
With lots of rest and minimal exertion…with which I’m still wrangling (give me an ounce of energy and I’m going 24/7)…I’m on the mend.
Yesterday I read a 16-year-old blogger’s rambling thoughts about dealing with fibromyalgia. My heart went out to her.
Imagine being a high-schooler facing the normal teenage dilemmas…peer pressure…boys…exams…parents’ expectations. Add to that an ailment that demands most of your attention from the minute you walk through the classroom door, until you’ve written the last sentence on that essay due tomorrow.
In this case, the young blogger had to pull back from the brink of a total breakdown, because she expected to fare better on her math exam than the she did previously. She was trying to beat a 93. Instead she got an 88.
An A-type personality is already difficult to manage, without adding an “elephant” into the room…fibromyalgia.
I’ve had the time and opportunity to reset my body. As a housewife, I can make my own schedule. There’s no external pressures making demands of me. Hubby leaves me to my own devices, knowing I’ll do what needs to be done in the moment.
No such luck for the suffering school girl attending classes, doing homework, answering to teachers and parents, struggling with failed efforts to make friends, no prospects of a boyfriend in sight. And just dealing with normal teenage angst due to hormones running rampant.
Sometimes it even sucks to be young!
There’s no escaping illnesses that get a stranglehold on one’s life…young or old. They balance the “playing field.” All we can do is make each inning count. And perhaps…
…have compassion for the other generation…
………hugmamma.
27/365: fractured reality/grace under pain (Photo credit: Samie Harding)
hugmamma's MIND, BODY and SOUL 
I think that happens a lot. We feel guilty complaining about our illnesses, especially when compared to what others have to go through. I had breast cancer; I am cancer free. The person down the road had cancer and didn’t do so well. It’s always sobering. We can only share our strength and insights and hopefully help others get through what they have to get through. And in sharing — like you just did — there is comfort in the thought that we’re not alone out here!
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Thank you so much for your sobering words. In light of others who suffer worse events in their life…like cancer…it reaffirms our need to count our blessings. And do what we can to move forward, knowing we’re not alone. Again…hugs for sharing your great outlook. Pleased to know you’re…out of the woods. 🙂
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a post to make me stop and think, and count my blessings. Thank you
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hugs for the comment…glad if my post struck a chord. 🙂
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Wonderful post!!
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Thank you, Heila. Having read about your son’s difficulties, also had him…and you…in mind as I wrote this post. The young have their share of stresses and frustrations for sure. Bless you as you try and help your son cope.
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Thank you for the thoughts and the thoughtfulness. 🙂
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God bless you and your loved ones. I’ll be hoping, and praying, that life gets better…one day at a time. hugs…
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It’s very easy to ‘write off’ these youngsters. Glad you are learning to cope with it, but it isn’t fun…..
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Unfortunately, both young and old get “written off” without their day in court. So easy to judge others. But unless one walks in someone else’s shoes…best not judge too quickly.
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Oh yes, and those shoes really don’t fit ………
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ha, ha…you’re right! Like Cinderella’s stepsisters trying to jam their big feet into her dainty, little shoe. 🙂
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