I have had a few things rattling around in my head lately. So, to get them out, I am putting them here to share with you.
First, I want to apologize to those of you who are 15+ years older than I am. With this illness, I have found new respect for the aging process. When I was in my 30’s, I didn’t understand how those 45+ didn’t cook for their families anymore. I didn’t understand why you couldn’t do several errands in a day. I didn’t comprehend why you couldn’t go out in the evenings. Now, I get it. These things have become a challenge to me.
How do you explain to someone that you can only do one errand a day, when they remember you going all day to get everything done?
How do you explain that you can’t walk to the copier to retrieve printed documents when it is only 25 ft. away?
After having an hour talk with a person about the foods you can eat, do you not accept food that makes you sick? Especially when they took the time to go to the store and buy the food for a special occasion. (This really bugs me. Don’t ask me what I want and then buy whatever you want.)
If you know I can’t anything with gluten, don’t offer me cake, cookies, pies, etc.
I have now progressed to sensitivities to all grains. That includes corn, rice and oats along with “ancient” grains. So chips, rice bowls, wraps, sandwiches are now off bounds. So, when I tell you I can only eat at few places, meet me there.
Sleep is difficult for me either due to respiratory coughing or joint pain. Getting to sleep is my biggest hurdle right now. Understand that I need to be home by a certain time to start winding down and do what I need to do to get to sleep. I have to go through a whole process of taking different supplements in the evenings to address my nighttime symptoms. So, I need to be home by 7 pm to accomplish that.
Parents- explain to your children that I wear oxygen because I have breathing problems. I am not weird. I am ill, but not contagious.
There is more, but I ran out of energy. Time to start winding down.