I am so many things to so many people. A mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a work friend, a teacher aide. I try to show love and compassion to all those I meet. I love books, both reading and writing them. I love going to the beach and just listening to the waves. I love sunshine and thunder storms. I am grateful every day that I am alive to experience all the world has to offer. And I have a chronic illness.
I have always had fragile health, getting ill easily. As a child I had legionnaires disease, Scarlett fever, rheumatic fever, pneumonia, migraines and IBS. As a teen I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue syndrome and Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome. As I entered my early twenties I finally experienced a period of wellness and health I hadn't had before.
My husband and I decided to have children young age as I have a family history of early menopause and we knew with my PCOS it might be a struggle to fall pregnant. We planned for me to stay at home for a year and then return to University to complete a graduate diploma in teaching, at which time my husband would become a stay at home dad while I taught full time.
After a year and a half of trying and a month of fertility treatment, we were blessed to find out I was pregnant with twins. The pregnancy was rocky, with hyperemesis, high blood pressure and finally preeclampsia. I delivered via an emergency c section and my family and I believed the sickness was behind me.
Unfortunately I only got worse. The first year of the twins life I was constantly out of breath, tired, unwell and gaining weight like crazy. I was eventually referred to a cardiologist and had an appointment which forever changes my life as I knew it.
Fast forward 7 years and I am slowly learning how to live well with chronic illness. I have completely changes from the person I once was. I have a body I hardly recognize and struggle to accept. I have been super lucky though; I am surrounded by loving, compassionate and caring friends and family without whom I wouldn't have made it this far. I hope my blog entries help to show others suffering from chronic illness that they are not alone, and will also help to keep my friends and family updated on my condition.
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