You may be wondering what this has to do with art, or creativity on my blog? Well, living with an invisible illness affects how often I can be creative, or create art. I hope to be able to share how I live with my illness and it's challenges, and maybe inspire others to be able to overcome the challenges in their own lives.
Monday, September 9, 2013
The Spoon Theory
Having an Invisible Illness is both frustrating and overwhelming. Without the support from family and friends, it could be very depressing as well. Thankfully, I have both the support of my family AND friends. Dealing with the life altering challenges and changes can be very difficult to implement in ones life, as well as getting others to have empathy or understanding of what you are going through. I found this story that a fellow sufferer shared, and I think it definitely puts things into a way most people can understand.
You may be wondering what this has to do with art, or creativity on my blog? Well, living with an invisible illness affects how often I can be creative, or create art. I hope to be able to share how I live with my illness and it's challenges, and maybe inspire others to be able to overcome the challenges in their own lives.
You may be wondering what this has to do with art, or creativity on my blog? Well, living with an invisible illness affects how often I can be creative, or create art. I hope to be able to share how I live with my illness and it's challenges, and maybe inspire others to be able to overcome the challenges in their own lives.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Welcome Back
It's been awhile since I wrote a post. A lot has been going on in my life. I went from being a "Super Mom" who worked forty hour weeks as a General Manager for a local computer store, then came home and took care of four children and my fiancé, the house and building my business as a Freelance Artist/Mural Artist, to becoming physically disabled by a mysterious chronic pain condition.
The past few years have been like something out of a Stephen King novel like "Thinner". You know the story where gypsies cursed a man to grow thinner and thinner till he almost died? Well for me, it started out as back pain, weakness and nerve issues. I went to physical therapy and thought I was getting better, then in January of 2010 it all went rapidly downhill. It was like falling down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, but instead of being able to follow Alice's lead and drink the magic potion to get better, I continued to get worse.
The many doctors on my team had diagnosed me with: nerve degeneration in my spine which affects my legs and arms, a bulging disc in my neck, Lumbar Stenosis, muscle wasting in my legs, Cushing's Disease, Polyneuropathy and various side conditions from the above mentioned conditions. It's led me to being in a wheelchair or power chair 24/7 and unable to do much of anything without assistance.
I think that the worst part of becoming disabled is not being able to be "Super Mom" anymore. I do have to say though that I must have raised my children well, since they seem to have adjusted well and try to help me with whatever they can and handle my limitations like champions, and of course my wonderful fiancé John has been the perfect dad and partner, taking on all the jobs of both parent and caregiver....I don't know what I'd do without him.
So now here we are...I'm adjusting pretty well to my new life, so decided it's time to get back to what I love to do the most...create art! On these pages, I'll be posting pictures of how I use my creative energy. I hope you enjoy following along!
The past few years have been like something out of a Stephen King novel like "Thinner". You know the story where gypsies cursed a man to grow thinner and thinner till he almost died? Well for me, it started out as back pain, weakness and nerve issues. I went to physical therapy and thought I was getting better, then in January of 2010 it all went rapidly downhill. It was like falling down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, but instead of being able to follow Alice's lead and drink the magic potion to get better, I continued to get worse.
The many doctors on my team had diagnosed me with: nerve degeneration in my spine which affects my legs and arms, a bulging disc in my neck, Lumbar Stenosis, muscle wasting in my legs, Cushing's Disease, Polyneuropathy and various side conditions from the above mentioned conditions. It's led me to being in a wheelchair or power chair 24/7 and unable to do much of anything without assistance.
I think that the worst part of becoming disabled is not being able to be "Super Mom" anymore. I do have to say though that I must have raised my children well, since they seem to have adjusted well and try to help me with whatever they can and handle my limitations like champions, and of course my wonderful fiancé John has been the perfect dad and partner, taking on all the jobs of both parent and caregiver....I don't know what I'd do without him.
So now here we are...I'm adjusting pretty well to my new life, so decided it's time to get back to what I love to do the most...create art! On these pages, I'll be posting pictures of how I use my creative energy. I hope you enjoy following along!
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