I caught myself in the clouds about my life and how I feel guilty for making a distinction between who I am and what my chronic illness is. Am I a fraud for saying I am a person in the midst of my struggles with health? No of course not! You are allowed to remember you through this. 

Who am I without you? 

Have you ever caught yourself asking yourself that question? Who you are in the midst of illness. What your favorite color is or how pain has changed you? 

You are not just your disease, you are SO much more than your disease. Your disease does not define who you are as a person or what your worth is. 

You are SEEN. Something I didn’t know I needed to hear this week that has stuck with me, “you can’t control your body.” It was like a wave of relief filled the room as I realized this my fault but my body's fault. This has NOTHING to do with but everything to do with the disease. 

Who are you? 

• RESILIENT 

• BEAUTIFUL 

• STRONG

• KIND

• EMPATHETIC

• BRAVE

• A PERSON

You are a human being that is going through a battle day in and day out. You are NOT to blame for missing work, needing new or more medication, gaining a few pounds or not being able to get pregnant. It is the disease and nothing you have done means you deserve any of this. 

I want you to look in the mirror this week and say, “I see you.”