This is what a chronic illness looks like...

I've only talked about it once here before, but this is the run-down of the progress (deterioration) of my health since I was diagnosed on June 6, 1993. I hear comments all the time from stupid people who say things like, "It must be nice to take your dog everywhere," and "Why does she need the dog?"  To them: It'd be really nice if I didn't have to take the dog everywhere, but she can tell before anyone else when I'm going to have an issue.  And just because I don't look sick doesn't mean everything is okay.  I worked for years with a blood count considered too low to do the things I was doing.

For those of you who are lucky enough not to live with a chronic illness, the best explanation I can show you is this: The Spoon Theory.

6/93   Familial polyposis. 3,000-5,000 polyps in the colon, each with a 1-in-20 chance of being cancerous, with a 100% conversion rate to cancer by age 40. I was 18, the doc said “you’ll be lucky to see 21 without radical surgery.” Stage 0 Cancer

7/93   Colon removed, the shit started. Adhesions, pain, other side effects from the surgery

1/94   Flown from college in Tennessee to Boston, MA, for emergency surgery-small intestine was shutting down; 21 days in TN & MA hospitals ended my college career

8/95   Left ureter blocked by scar tissue, stent inserted

7/98   Same thing happened to the right ureter

1998-2011   80+ stent changes; MRSA (2 years), Strep, e. coli (twice), various infections (hundreds) in both kidneys; Less than 5% function

1/01   Emergency surgery to correct intestinal blockage; MRSA finally eradicated after 2 years; kidney function went from 40% to 15%; Docs told my family I wasn’t going to make it right after the surgery when both kidneys crashed for a week

7/03   Septic infection of both kidneys; Nurse told my sister I wasn’t going to make it

6/05   Severe anemia; blood count 22; Procrit didn’t help, still going to work full time

1/06   Resigned from my position as office manager-didn’t have enough energy to get up any more

2/06   Started hemodialysis on my 31st birthday with a blood count of 18; dialysis 3 days a week for 3 hours at a time; transplant is not an option because of intra- and retro-peritoneal fibrosis

1/08   Parathyroidectomy, 35 days in hospital and rehabilitation facility

8/08   Another infection, 16 days in hospital and rehabilitation facility

7/09   Another bout of MRSA, this time external and easily eradicated

8/09   COLLEGE! For the first time since 1994 I felt well enough to go to college & I have a 3.916 GPA; I will get my AA in 2012 & transfer to work on my Bachelors Degree

2/11   God didn’t think I had enough to deal with, so I have Melanoma. 2 surgeries during my Spring semester. Stage 1 Cancer removed & 3/11 biopsy of lymph node showed it didn’t spread. Checkups with dermatologist every 3 months, oncologist every 6

5/13/11   Relay for Life Survivors’ Dinner & Victory Lap. Because I’ve made cancer my bitch TWICE!

Still have to deal with intermittent fainting spells, migraines, anemia, low blood pressure, stent changes (down to once a year from every 6 weeks in ‘98), graft surgeries (18 so far since ‘05), electrolyte crashes, and sudden dehydration, but that’s just life for me. At least I’m here-15 years after I wasn’t supposed to be.