For the month of August I was participating in the great cycle challenge, my goal was to ride 400 km on my trike to raise $500 to fight kids cancer. I met my goal! I rode 454 km and raised $503. My trike rides are one of my favourite parts of my day, but they also come at a cost in terms of pain and muscle strain, so worth it though!
Yesterday, someone very close to me asked why I wouldn’t just not wear my respirator (I wear a medical respirator to be around other people) and let myself die, why I would want to stay alive with all of my health complications and chronic pain. That hurt deeply, this ride challenge, all of the things that I can still accomplish is why I push every single day to stay alive. Tomorrow I host my book club, Sunday I go to gay pride, next week I am giving a talk in front of 50 people about dying in your 40’s and why it’s not as bad as one might think, I have a YouTube channel, I moderate groups on here, I help former students, I have adventures with my family/friends/pups, I have so much living left to do! As much as I can fit in the time I have left. Even if that is less than five years, that time can still be amazing… even with exhaustion and pain! There is always a silver lining and always more good than bad in life. So instead of focussing on the gaslighting and hurtful comments, I choose to focus on my wins and accomplishments.
#Abunchofrarediseases #AddisonsDisease #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #PTSD #FunctionalNeurologicalDisorder #Migraine #Asthma #CeliacDisease #MitochondrialDisease #MastCellActivationDisorder #Trauma #raynauds #Arthritis #Rarebleedingdisorder
#MentalHealth #Depression #Anxiety #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #Disability #DistractMe #dying #dyingyoung