Hello
friends and family
Are you dealing with the reality of having a chronic illness /pain? Have you had a stroke? My name is Barbara Engle, and I can honestly say that I am a stroke survivor of 7 months. I am also a 30 year chronic illness/ pain survivor. I am also a motivational speaker and councilor , skills I developed because of my own struggle with the reality of being physically challenged.
Are you dealing with the reality of having a chronic illness /pain? Have you had a stroke? My name is Barbara Engle, and I can honestly say that I am a stroke survivor of 7 months. I am also a 30 year chronic illness/ pain survivor. I am also a motivational speaker and councilor , skills I developed because of my own struggle with the reality of being physically challenged.
The
challenge of living with chronic illness/ pain isn't always apparent
when you're first diagnosed. This is just the beginning. It takes
time to understand your illness, the treatment options available, and
how living with illness will affect your life and the lives of your
partner and family.
Being sick is like being on a roller coaster -- you can be up and hopeful one minute and down and doubtful the next. Your illness can take unexpected and unpredictable turns. One disease can dispose you to or give rise to another. Sometime medical professionals can help, other time you soon realize that there is little that they can do to help. This can be frightening as well as exasperating.
When you live with chronic illness/pain, every aspect of life takes on a new dimension. Your daily decisions and choices are examined through a new lens, and you often find yourself carefully weighing the ramifications and possible outcomes of your choices. But, wait. Wasn't this the way it always was? Isn't this something all intelligent and responsible adults do? Yes, of course. However, living with chronic illness/pain broadens the scope of that decision making process.
The challenge of living with chronic illness/ pain is test of courage and faith. But the recovery process can be hindered by feelings of isolation. We as human beings were never designed to live in a vacuum. We need human connections in order to find a healing path in which to walk down. We not only need family and friends that are willing to accept us and our physical limitations. We need to be able to connect to other people that have or are walking the same path that we are. This helps us to get ride of negative emotions such as depression and anger, but it also helps us to feel less isolated and alone.
I opened Only by Grace stroke/chronic illness/pain survivors In order to deal with my own feelings of isolation , but to also help those that need to be encouraged to share their story and victories over the wide varieties of illness that we find ourselves dealing with on a daily bases . Our group administrators are natural encourage-rs, but we are also survivors. NOT VICTIMS!
Being sick is like being on a roller coaster -- you can be up and hopeful one minute and down and doubtful the next. Your illness can take unexpected and unpredictable turns. One disease can dispose you to or give rise to another. Sometime medical professionals can help, other time you soon realize that there is little that they can do to help. This can be frightening as well as exasperating.
When you live with chronic illness/pain, every aspect of life takes on a new dimension. Your daily decisions and choices are examined through a new lens, and you often find yourself carefully weighing the ramifications and possible outcomes of your choices. But, wait. Wasn't this the way it always was? Isn't this something all intelligent and responsible adults do? Yes, of course. However, living with chronic illness/pain broadens the scope of that decision making process.
The challenge of living with chronic illness/ pain is test of courage and faith. But the recovery process can be hindered by feelings of isolation. We as human beings were never designed to live in a vacuum. We need human connections in order to find a healing path in which to walk down. We not only need family and friends that are willing to accept us and our physical limitations. We need to be able to connect to other people that have or are walking the same path that we are. This helps us to get ride of negative emotions such as depression and anger, but it also helps us to feel less isolated and alone.
I opened Only by Grace stroke/chronic illness/pain survivors In order to deal with my own feelings of isolation , but to also help those that need to be encouraged to share their story and victories over the wide varieties of illness that we find ourselves dealing with on a daily bases . Our group administrators are natural encourage-rs, but we are also survivors. NOT VICTIMS!
