In 2018 I began showing a collection of symptoms that I couldn’t explain. With a combination of research and luck, I eventually found out that they were caused by Mast Cell Activation Disorder.
Tag: physical health
9 Things That Blocked My Access to Medical Treatment
This is a new version of an article that was originally published as “26,” about the early attempts to diagnose the cause of my chronic pain and other symptoms, and the many ways my access to medical treatment was blocked for years prior.
Chronic Illness: Wait, Your Body Doesn’t Do This, Too?
A revamped version of my article “The Blue Book” about my discovery of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and early struggles with integrating chronic illness into my identity.
The Things Our Pets Can Teach Us About Self-Care
As a change of pace, I’m offering you this lovely, silly self-care article, with the hopes that it both gives you good reminders for healthy habits to practice during the pandemic, and also gives you a laugh. Rats got a pretty bad rap in previous pandemics, and apparently, they’d like to make it up to us.
Coping with Covid: Learning to Find Comfort Amidst the Unknown
But what do you say to your community when you’re scared, don’t know what to do, and you still want to offer them some kind of comfort?
A Letter to My Local Government Regarding Covid19
I have written a letter to send to my local government representatives that outlines what I believe should be top priority concerns for our government to address regarding Covid19 on both a state and federal level.
It Can’t Be That Bad: How the Medical System Let Me Fall Through the Cracks
As more and more stories of medical neglect as a result of marginalization are brought to light, I hope that we can collectively reduce that disconnect and bring understanding and accommodation of marginalized backgrounds into our medical system, rather than using the medical system to further enforce their oppression. Maya Strong’s guest post today is one of those stories.
I Don’t Have Interstitial Cystitis
As if I didn’t have enough health conditions already, this article is the story of how I thought I had interstitial cystitis… and then found out that I didn’t.
Why Chronic Illness Makes It So Hard to Leave Home
My chronically ill friends and I joke about the medicine cabinet worth of supplies we take with us on any trip that’s longer than an hour because we never know what we’re going to need. But why is such intensive preparation required for a simple outing? Why does chronic illness make it so hard to leave home, even for a few hours?
Dear Me Ten Years Ago: Advice for My 20-year-old Self
About a month ago, I was dinking around twitter when I saw the hashtag #DearMeTenYearsAgo. Woah. Where was I 10 years ago? If I could say anything, what would I give as advice for my 20-year-old Self?