Reflections

Hello Lovies! I’m sure most of us can agree that explaining to others just how much our illnesses can impact our lives can be a difficult task. So we’ll be discussing how to make it a bit easier for both sides. In effort to promote understanding; I’d like to shed …

I have many visible scars from various diagnostic procedures over time. I have a scar on my ribcage from my chest drain, a scar slightly under my arm pit, and a scar just underneath my right breast, from my Hodgkin’s biopsy. I also have scars on my arms from cannulas; …

This past week I learned something. After four negative pregnancy tests and only one month left to try, I decided to talk to my hubs about IVF and having my eggs harvested to maybe have a surrogate one day. Turns out the hubs doesn’t believe in IVF or surrogacy. Hum. …

A Hendersonville, NC couple, both diagnosed with cancer, has found a way to support each other that few other have done: with matching cancer awareness tattoos. On Sept. 6, 2012 Joni Brezenoff learned she had stage-4 breast cancer. “I was told if the treatment didn’t work, I’d have 12-18 months …

I often think that I am being selfish when I have a “woe is me” day. I do acknowledge that I am entitled to them because while what happens to me may not be as severe as what happens to the guy next to me, it IS still happening to …

The Fight Like a Girl Club would like to spotlight one of our members and Power Story writers, Allison Healy, who was recently awarded by the National Collegiate Wrestling Association for her bravery in battling multiple serious medical conditions, including RSD/CRPS, Gastroparesis/Intestinal Dysmotility/DTP, and POTS/Dysautonomia. Allison was chosen for the award after …

Most inspirational quote books available today are simply compilations of various quotes by different authors, many of which we’ve all read or heard a thousand times. There is certainly nothing wrong with such an approach, but this is not what you get with In the Garden of Happiness. Each of …

The latest buzz on the internet is a new television show called Red Band Society. I’ve read a few reviews of the show that were written by chronically or terminally ill teens who had watched the pilot. Their reviews made me worried that chronic or terminally illnesses wouldn’t be portrayed …

You may or may not have noticed my absence the past couple of months. The fault is entirely my own, and to be honest it’s because I just couldn’t find the words. Ironic for a writer when words are what you depend on. But after every negative pregnancy test I became more …

Something I have found lately since starting infertility treatments is that I am much more sensitive to people’s comments now. I completely understand that a lot of people don’t really think about what they say before they  say it and of course a lot may not know our situation but …