Life with Chronic Illness

I woke up Saturday morning not feeling well.  I had been shaky all night, but didn't know why.  I woke my mom up and asked her to take me to the ER after vomiting.  Instead of driving 45 minutes to Mass General, I decided to have her take me to a closer hospital that I usually go to for things like kidney stones, that are easy to deal with and not life threatening.  I also had my appendix out here 3 months ago. I had a fever of 102+, and they immediately started giving me fluids, steroids, and zofran for nausea.  My blood pressure has been below 90/50 the entire time I have been here except after eating for the first time last night. Of course, as things usually go when I end up in an ER, I was admitted.  First, I had a roommate that didn't stop coughing, but when she did, she would feel the need to fill in the silence with talking, and not just your basic roommate small talk, but how she was hallucinating.  My mom asked for a different room and now, I have a big room to my

Recently, after many mornings of being out of breath and out of energy after walking from my assigned spot 0.4 miles away, I asked for a handicap permit so I could park closer to work.  I have had chest pain, stiff joints (especially in the morning), and shortness of breath, all due to Lupus.  I have not told a lot of people that I work with, simply because I know that judgement that will come from it.  No, I will not use my permit to park closer to the grocery store when I am feeling fine.  Yes, I may use it on days that I am having a hard time getting around, or when I am especially short of breath. When a friend asked how it helped me, I tried explaining that it gives me a more positive start to my day.  I don't start the day feeling sick, I start it feeling a little better, and with more energy to give to my job.  The best way to explain this?  Spoons, obviously.  If you are not familiar with The Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino, you can read about it  here . Generally