Today I got the news that I've been fighting for since February. Humira approved my financial aid and will cover my injections!!!
HALLELUJAH. (I feel like belting out that song from The Sister Act 2... except I could never hit that high note!)
I almost didn't believe my mom when she called to tell me. I've been feeling so sick for so long that I had honestly started to lose any hope of getting better. But now I've got a chance! I know there's the possibility that it won't work or I'll react badly, but I'm more than willing to take that risk in the hopes of not just feeling better, but healing.
I tell ya, having a chronic illness like this gets in your head sometimes. You wonder, "Will I ever get better? What if we can't find a medicine that works? Am I a failure for not being able to do what others do?" It is a constant fight with my own head to stay positive and not feel like a burden to my friends and family. I know I take a lot of their time and energy with the care I need, and not being able to help out around the house much or do anything with or for them weighs on my conscience.
But at that point I know I've got to realize that it's not my fault I have this disease. I didn't ask for it and I sure as heck would never choose it, but it's here and I have to live with it. Sure, it means making changes and realigning my goals with my capabilities, but that doesn't mean my life has to be boring or unimportant. I can live each day for that day, love and cherish my time with family and friends, and let the future come one day at a time. No sense in worrying about things you can't change.
As always, stay awesome my lovelies!
Friday, May 18, 2018
An Intro to the Blog...
To jump right into things, my name is Amariah and I've been living with Crohn's disease for four years now. Time sure does fly... I was diagnosed at sixteen, and that sure threw my life for a loop! It's been a wild, bumpy, hair-raising ride from day one.
This blog will be dedicated to posts about two main things; a) living and coping with chronic illness, and b) living a frugal lifestyle with chronic illness. Those two things may not seem super connected, but believe me, they most certainly are! Most medicines to treat autoimmune diseases are LUDICROUSLY expensive (think $10,000 every 8 weeks!), and I want to try to minimize my debt and spending wherever possible to try to offset the horrid bills that come with being sick. I'll also be posting resources for people who, like me, are unemployed because of their illnesses. I'm currently looking for a stay-at-home job or side hustle that I can work around my bad days and flares, so hopefully in the process something may stand out to you as well!
I want to share my journey with chronic illness because of how profoundly it has affected me and my life. I've dropped out of college in three separate semesters, broke off an engagement, and dealt with multiple hospitalizations in just the past year alone! As you can imagine, that's a lot for anyone to deal with, and it's definitely changed my outlook on life.
But the important thing is that I will not let my illness define me.
Too often people with chronic illnesses lose their sense of self. Their life becomes defined by their medications and symptoms, their hospital bills and lab results. Just because we've had a new challenge added to our lives doesn't mean that we automatically become "the sick kid" -- we are still us. Artists, musicians, dreamers, doers. While sometimes our symptoms may take away the things we loved to do, that doesn't mean we love them any less. We take it one day at a time, pushing through it or working around it. We don't give up our minds because our bodies are defective.
Onto bigger and better things! Check out the My Crohn's Story tab for my medical journey so far, and be on the lookout for new posts every few days. Stay awesome, my lovelies!
This blog will be dedicated to posts about two main things; a) living and coping with chronic illness, and b) living a frugal lifestyle with chronic illness. Those two things may not seem super connected, but believe me, they most certainly are! Most medicines to treat autoimmune diseases are LUDICROUSLY expensive (think $10,000 every 8 weeks!), and I want to try to minimize my debt and spending wherever possible to try to offset the horrid bills that come with being sick. I'll also be posting resources for people who, like me, are unemployed because of their illnesses. I'm currently looking for a stay-at-home job or side hustle that I can work around my bad days and flares, so hopefully in the process something may stand out to you as well!
I want to share my journey with chronic illness because of how profoundly it has affected me and my life. I've dropped out of college in three separate semesters, broke off an engagement, and dealt with multiple hospitalizations in just the past year alone! As you can imagine, that's a lot for anyone to deal with, and it's definitely changed my outlook on life.
But the important thing is that I will not let my illness define me.
Too often people with chronic illnesses lose their sense of self. Their life becomes defined by their medications and symptoms, their hospital bills and lab results. Just because we've had a new challenge added to our lives doesn't mean that we automatically become "the sick kid" -- we are still us. Artists, musicians, dreamers, doers. While sometimes our symptoms may take away the things we loved to do, that doesn't mean we love them any less. We take it one day at a time, pushing through it or working around it. We don't give up our minds because our bodies are defective.
Onto bigger and better things! Check out the My Crohn's Story tab for my medical journey so far, and be on the lookout for new posts every few days. Stay awesome, my lovelies!
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