Dear Avril Lavigne,

Thank you for giving us hope. Thank you for speaking the truth and showing those of us fighting chronic illnesses that we are not alone. We fight this fight together. We listen to your music and hear our stories understood. You explain the reality of chronic illness. Chronic illnesses are often the fight for our lives. The fight to keep living, the fight to stay active in our communities, the fight to stay doing the things everyone else takes for granted. It’s the fight to not lose ourselves in our illness. Like she says in her song

“I've gotta keep the calm before the storm

I don't want less, I don't want more

Must bar the windows and the doors

To keep me safe, to keep me warm

Yeah, my life is what I'm fighting for

Can't part the sea, can't reach the shore

And my voice becomes the driving force

I won't let this pull me overboard”

Avril Lavigne.
Thank you for giving our community a voice, and thank you for being a symbol of strength. Thank you for giving me the strength to keep fighting when I no longer thought I had it in me.

Katie #AvrilLavigne #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #Fibromyalgia #Gastroparesis #LymeDisease #Hope #POTS #LivingWithPOTS #ChronicMigraines #ChronicIllness