August 3, 2017
The Text of Shame
It’s your best friend’s birthday. You bought tickets to the show she’s been wanting to see for the last year and promised you would go no matter how sick you got in the hours leading up to your departure. Leaning into those words, your dear friend has skipped both the 24-hour and 4-hour check-in texts. She’s oblivious to the raging... Read morePosted in CVID, Rare Disease, Relationships | By Stacey Philpot
July 31, 2017
Learning to Love Our Broken Bodies
Some might say my body has been through a lot. Yesterday, I cleaned out my dresser drawers and found five pairs of hospital issue no-slip socks. I also discovered clothing in sizes 4-16, old nursing bras, the remote to my bladder pacemaker, and a bikini that would now fit one-third of my body. It’s hard to fathom the number of... Read morePosted in Chronic Illness and body image | By Stacey Philpot
June 22, 2017
Giving Grace in Marriage When Chronic Illness is Present
Not long ago, Ryan and I teamed up with the amazing folks over at The Knot Project to talk about what showing grace in a marriage where chronic illness looks like for us. Ryan is thankful I don’t kill him in his sleep for all the snoring, and I confess to having a few control issues. 🙂 Check it out! Share on... Read morePosted in Caregivers | By Stacey Philpot
June 19, 2017
Dear Doctors, May You Always Use Your Powers for Good.
Dear Doctors, May you always use your powers for good. Perhaps, the power goes to your head after a while, or like the smell of your own feces, you become immune to it. Yet, you have it just the same. We come to you broken and ashamed, afraid. Yours for the molding, the putting back together or the shattering beyond... Read morePosted in Physicians | By Stacey Philpot
June 15, 2017
3 Truths About Relationships in the Belly of the Cave
If like me, you’ve known sickness of any kind, or even simply walked through a particularly difficult time in your life, you’ve most likely also experienced a myriad of responses from those close to you. Maybe the people you least anticipated being the heroes in your story showed up on the scene and continue to show time and time again. More... Read morePosted in chronic illness; support | By Stacey Philpot
June 12, 2017
A surgery happy dance. Twerking-style.
It’s weird to be happy about surgery. Of course, I would prefer not to need surgery. I would prefer that my insides worked the way they’re supposed to. I would prefer not to have had IBS for 40 years. But all my preferring doesn’t change reality. And the reality is that I need surgery and I’ll be glad to finally... Read morePosted in Chronic Life | By Stacey Philpot
June 8, 2017
Is It Invisible Illness or Not Willing to Be Understood Illness?
By now you’ve probably figured out I’m “sick.” I have issues with that statement for two major reasons. One, to me the word sick has always seemed so temporary. There needs to be a better, stronger word for what I am. But yes, I guess I am sick. I guess I know it. Grumble, grumble, grumble. Two, I don’t want... Read morePosted in Chronic illness and relationships, chronic illness; support, Chronic Life | By Stacey Philpot
June 5, 2017
When Faceless Rescues Count the Most
At sixteen, I had a cyst that ruptured, causing me to lose over half the blood in my body. I was sweeping the hallway bathroom in preparation of my brother’s homecoming when a gush of blood flooded my legs and then the floor. “Concerning.” I thought. I’d already had my period that month, and I’d certainly never had a period... Read morePosted in Chronic Illness and Diagnosis, chronic illness; support, Chronic Life | By Stacey Philpot
June 1, 2017
When We Drown in Our Not Enoughness
“Not to be mean, Mommy, but Daddy is nicer than you.” These are the words my five-year-old daughter graces me with as she fills our minivan with her endless chatter. So far, I’ve been chastised for my lack of passion in response, my tendency to stare blankly ahead, and general lack of entertainment value. I wonder silently if Daddy might... Read morePosted in Parenting and Chronic Illness | By Stacey Philpot
May 30, 2017
How to Live Life in Spite of Chronic Pain and Fatigue
How do you explain chronic, debilitating fatigue to a world that wakes up well-rested? How do you explain sickness and limitations being the norm to a people who’ve only known health and limitless living? Can you? I remember (quite woefully, now) before the hostile takeover when sickness was still something I could hide, push beyond for the most part, I... Read morePosted in Chronic Illness and Pain, Chronic Life | By Stacey Philpot
