Hi there!
Hey there!
Willow is wearing her hair down with a black beanie. She is wearing a green shirt and jeans. She is smiling in her kitchen because sometimes you need to dance while you are cooking.
Thanks for coming by my little corner of the internet, I can't wait to get to know you better!
I decided to start this blog because I was tired of feeling like I wasn't “normal”. I was tired of watching people sexualize chronic illness and I was certainly done with the shaming that was coming from people around me. It is time that the world realizes that just because I have a chronic illness doesn't mean I can't also like fashion, or makeup, or being active. I can be more than one thing and I'm ready to show the world who I am and help you feel empowered in who you are as well!
Willow is connected to a whole bunch of wires and tubes. She is holding two thumbs up and has her hair pulled back. She is laying in a hospital bed in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of University of Minnesota.
It doesn't matter if you are newly diagnosed or have been sick for a lifetime. Everyone is welcome here. Chronic illness is not something that takes away your ability to be a human. I don't know where that misconception started, but to be honest, I'm over it. I am pretty sure that people think the moment I was diagnosed, everything I liked or enjoyed went away and I became pancreatitis. Lately, I'm wondering if the whole “You aren't your disease/ You are more than your disease” mantra wasn't for us at all but for the people around us. I'm not someone who denies how much my illness effects my life. No way, I won't lie, I spend the majority of my life taking care of my health and managing it. However, that isn't all I do and it certainly isn't all God has planned for me.
One thing that I will tell you, is that if there was one thing that ONLY improved since becoming ill it would have to be my love for Jesus. He and I had always been a team. Even before I was sick I was probably the most evangelical christian preschooler you ever would have met. The word “Evangelical” always makes me feel weird. I prefer to just say “I love the Lord and I love sharing that love with other people”. The Lord brings me such overwhelming joy even in times where I would have had a hard time coming up with one thing to tell you I was thankful for. I was still sure, I was blessed. I love Jesus and He is my best friend so get ready to love him too, if you don't already.
The last two years I have been feeling more and more called to create a safe place for those battling chronic conditions. A place to find resources, tools, love, laughter and straight up joy. A place where you can truly come as you are and you are loved. That is what this blog is all about. I was tired of the stigma that if you were chronically ill, you are a burden or all you were was your illness. We have so much more to us than that. When people choose to see us simply as sick, they are saying it is too much work to be in our friend group. They may be feeling that they aren't willing to do the work it would take, to adapt a project so that we can partake in it. The part about this that is so disappointing is that a lot of the time we aren’t even included in the conversation. They are making decisions on what we need, for us. That is not okay. We are all on this Earth to live a life that is glorifying to Christ. If that is why we are here why are we tearing each other down. I want you to know: I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We are allowed to have bad days and hate life and we are allowed to have good days and thank the Lord. Just because you are chronically ill does not mean we aren't human. So I hope you are excited to begin this journey with me and if you ever need anything you can email, dm and talk about anything with me at any time! Welcome to the fam!
This is one of the days of my life where I felt the most loved. My community put on an event to help with medical bills. This was March 4th, 2014 and was called the “Walk for Willow”. To this day I can cry so many tears just thinking about this group of loved ones. I want you to know you have this now too. So welcome to the family, forreal.
With all my love,
Willow Ann
