20 life lessons I have learned over the course of the last decade. In the last 10 years, I have been through it all. I have learned closely and painfully how precious life is. I have learned that life isn’t easy when you are healthy and is much more difficult with a chronic illness but following Christ allows you to see the lit path before you. Today, 10 years ago, I went states away following the lit path to have a surgery that was my only hope outside of christ performing a miracle. 10 years later to the day I look back to see that that surgery was my miracle. This was also a life event that changed everything about who I am, who I am going forward, who my friends and family are to me. and now we are a decade out. chronically ill, total pancreatectomy with auto islet cell transplant, pancreatitis, type 3c diabetes, diabetic life, chronic pain, neuropathic, neuropathy, migraine, narcolepsy, cataplexy, insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, anxiety, depression, splenectomy, appendectomy, surgery, hospitals, doctors, ready to be heard, feelings are validated, validation of pain, friend who understand , family understands

My husband is someone who is always on the go. He loves having projects. He loves exploring the world around him. He loves building and creating things. He likes to be working on projects bt with my health I often cant keep up. I wanted to share my tips and tricks to meet in the middle so that you and your partner can still spend time together. Supporting each others hobbies and activities is important and vital to a successful relationship.

When I became chronically ill something changed that I never expected. It was how I planned my life. Not in the way you may be thinking in the sense of what I want to do and how to do it. It changed in the sense of how I planned trips and events. I had to plan rest days. I didn’t used to have to plan for my body to be unable to function for days after a trip or event. I eventually started calling it my 3-5 business day recovery plan. I thought I would share this with you in hopes that you and your loved ones may be able to understand each other better. As well as, maybe gibing you a new tip or trick to make life more manageable so you can feel like you are thriving not simply surviving.

I am tired. Tired means so many things. It can mean I need a nap, it can mean im worn out from that specific thing, it can mean im exhausted from life. When a friend with a chronic illness tells you they are tired; they are telling you they are tired of fighting to live. They are tired of fighting doctors to get the treatment they need a deserve. They are worn out. No one wants to fight as much as we do especially when you feel as sick as we do. It is exhausting. So lately if you ask me how I am… Im just tired.

Twenty six things that I have learned in my twenty six years of life. I wanted to share the things that I learned this past year as well as things that I have known but wish I implemented these things in more.

Packing for any trip when you are chronically ill can be a daunting task in it of itself. However, packing for a trip that is across an ocean and a 13-14 hour flight is a whole other level of difficulty. My goal in this post is to help you understand what to pack and how to successfully pack so that you don’t over pack but you have what you need. Packing for Israel was difficult but together we can achieve anything. This is a post that should help explain all that and be honest about it all. I hope this helps and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Valentine’s Day gets overhyped so much that often times it overwhelms people. If you want to and can celebrate it; that is great! Have a wonderful time! If this just isn’t a night you can make work or you just don’t like the pressure associated then forget about it. Valentine’s Day is like a giant reminder sticker so that we don’t forget that life is short and people can be gone the next day. so the point is take the lesson of Valentine’s day and carry it around all year. Don’t let yourself get to a place of complacency and taking your spouse for granted. Time to own our relationships and treat people the way they should be treated year round. I hope this helps!

What are your life mottos? What statements do you come back to when life is not going right? DON’T WORRY! I am sharing all of my tips and tricks for getting through life as someone who is chronically ill. These blog posts are for everyone though because whether you have a chronic illness or not you have had to face adversity at times. It is hard and it can be awful but hopefully with these tips it cane make life just a little more manageable. Assess, Adapt, Move on or in Michael’s case Overcome!