About my disabilities and health

Ten years ago I started this blog when I went back to University to study English Literature. My intention was to chronicle my journey as a student with disabilities and multiple chronic illnesses and I did just that. As time passed the purpose of this blog changed, however, my openness in talking about my disabilities and my health did not. I’ve continued to keep talking about them in hopes of helping others and trying to stop ignorance through awareness.

This section of my blog has been shamefully ignored and for Disability Pride Month 2021 I decided to try to give it the attention it deserved – and naturally, my health prevented me from completing it. At the moment pages will link to a placeholder as I continue to work my way through each section.

About my health

As of writing this (July 2021), I’m at a grand total of seven chronic health conditions which are incurable and have multiple other health concerns. All of them impact my daily life. I don’t tend to mention the health concerns because let’s be honest, seven chronic health conditions are enough! I refer to my chronic health conditions as “my collection” (a phrase I saw someone use on Twitter, and they delightfully let me coin too) because if you don’t laugh you cry.

All of them are what are known as “invisible illnesses”; they have no outside physical manifestation. To look at me, you would think I was just an overweight person. You don’t see the chronic pain and fatigue that prevents me from standing upright or walking for more than five minutes without rest. Or any of my other symptoms. That’s why talking about them is so very important.

You can learn more about them, my symptoms and how they affect my daily life below.

Chronic Health Conditions

  • Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
  • ME/CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
  • Migraines
  • Depression and Anxiety
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Asthma
  • Non-Allergic Rhinitis
  • Costochondritis

Health Concerns

Want to know more?

I regularly talk about my disabilities in my monthly updates and in various blog posts. You can read more by viewing the Health & Disabilities category or my Blog Post Tag cloud to see posts tagged with keywords like chronic illness, invisible illness and so on. I would also suggest reading My Disability Story series.

Please note

Comments are open on all pages and I welcome any questions here or on social media. I will, however, not indulge anyone who sees fit to argue, debate or lecture me on anything related to my disabilities or health. These pages are here to provide my audience with information, so they can better understand how my disabilities affect my life, they are NOT a cry for help or a request for assistance. I do not care what worked for your sister’s cousin’s mother. You have been warned.

1 Comment

  1. Hi Heather,
    I’m procrastinating writing my first [overdue] weekly challenge post by reading your challenge posts and got side-tracked over here.
    First of all: HUGGZ!
    Living with chronic illness sucks.
    I’ve never counted my diseases individually but I have a few. The two biggies being Rheumatoid Arthritis & Fibromyalgia. I also deal with depression, S.A.D. [Seasonal Affective Disorder first experienced the winter after my father died. He had pancreatic cancer at age 39 and died a week before my 18th birthday [and his 40th BD, Mom’s 39th BD and my sister’s 16th BD – yes all of our BD’s happen in 4 days and Mom & Sis share a BD], IBS, , Sjogren’s Syndrome [which results in a lot of dental problems], Restless Leg Syndrome, Hypothyroidism, and some sleep issues from 25 years of round-the-clock rotating shiftwork. There are a few other, mostly side effects from meds or main diseases, that are too boring to list and I try not to think about them too much.
    Because I started work at a young age, I managed to pack in a long non-traditional career [Canadian Flight Service Specialist] before retiring on disability. It took ten years to balance and tweak everything [med doses & time tables, lifestyle modifications, and routines] to the point that I call managed with the help of an amazing GP.
    I live on a 36 to 40-hour sleep/wake cycle and of that, I have about 6 hours that allow me to be fully functional. After that, with each passing hour my functioning ability decreases. I also live with some cognitive dysfunction that is very annoying. My processing abilities at my last cognitive assessment scored so low they were off the chart at the bottom. This means I can’t do math and figuring out new information is challenging, which does add a bit of spice to questing in WoW!
    Additionally, I am post-menopausal which hit my already low-average memory with a major nerf thus leaving me with very little functional memory. My memory has the largest negative impact of my quality of life, even more so than my pain, joint deterioration, mobility and vertigo do. Oh ya, I have four distinct types of vertigo that have some amusing and some not-so-amusing effects the least of which is my “drunken gait”.
    I developed my RA when I was 18, diagnosed with Fibro after I gave birth when I was 28. However I maintained my high IQ, mental cognition, extensive vocabulary, impressive memory and exceptional organizing skills until I was 45. It’s been all downhill from there.
    All this babble to say, “You’re not alone” & “Hey there Spoonie Sister”.

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