Thoughts...

When you're living with a chronic condition and spending most of your time at home, you do tend to have a lot of time at your hands to just think about things. Some thoughts can be dreamy, some are brilliant, other thoughts slightly bitter- though those aren't many. 

Often I just think about how pretty damn good my life is!

As much as it sucks to live with a chronic condition that may or may not progressively worsen, I can honestly say that I'm not bitter about my situation, despite waking up each day feeling like shit most of the time and having to pace myself all the time to avoid the worst flares. 

Like with so many other things, I've turned my condition into something positive instead. 

Now how can anyone turn a chronic condition into something positive you may wonder?

It's actually not that hard, you just have to find the positives in your life and make sure it outweighs the bad things. 

The positives for me in my battle against chronic illness, is the people I've gotten to know thanks to living with this crap! 

Thanks to a genetic mutation that I wouldn't even wish upon my worst enemy, I've gotten to know some of the most awesome people walking this planet! Friends I wouldn't trade for anything! Friends I'd cross oceans for. Friends whom I most likely wouldn't have gotten to know had I not been fighting this battle against Ehlers Danlos Syndrome! 

In utopia, both my friends and I would know each other, without either of us being chronically ill. But seeing how this isn't utopia and we are battling a chronic condition, I'm just so grateful to have all those people in my life!

And don't assume we just talk about illnesses! We talk about everything between heaven and earth and beyond to the edge of the universe and back! 

I have the best family and cat you can imagine, and the most awesome friends ever! What more can a human being ask for really?

There are some things I'd like to change in my life, situations the EDS and its effects on my body has put me in. But I am working on making those changes and I'm positive that I shall succeed with it too! Determination can get you really far!

Of course, there are days where the EDS is just being pure evil and the pain is so bad I cry and just want to scream, and I do spend many nights awake, not seldom because of pain. But I ALWAYS remember the positive things in my life, and that gives me the strength to fight and to come back again, and the strength to handle a life with chronic pain.

On top of everything else, I've learned to appreciate life in a different way, including appreciating even the small things that most people take for granted. 

In all honestly, it's really difficult to write this post, I guess there's always someone out there who'll interpret it wrong and think I enjoy being chronically ill. But for those who might think that. No, I do NOT enjoy it, not for a second! I've just decided to have a generally positive view on life, and wanting all my friends who read this post to know how much I appreciate that our paths met, even though I wish the reason of our paths meeting having been a better reason than a chronic condition. 

To all my friends: I'm always here for you and all ears! And I will cross oceans for you should the need arise!