Anonymous asked: Hi! So I have never experienced anything like the stories that have been shared on here, but I want you to know that this is really an amazing idea for a blog. I just wish more people knew about it! It's awesome!
Thank you so much! I am so sorry that this blog has kind of been on the back burner lately. But I still care about it so much and am determined to continue to work on it. This message was INCREDIBLY encouraging!!
<3
Lauren
(Source: pictorialstack, via inthewrongstory)
This is Becky, she is 16 years old. Her blog was f4lsely. Becky passed away from cancer on March 8th. She loved her blog. Please reblog this as a remembrance of Becky. We love you Becky. RIP you will be missed beautiful <3
(via es-c4pe)
At 12, nothing seems more important than fitting in. You try to make friends and do the best you can to not screw everything up, even though you feel like you can do nothing right. For me, twelve was the beginning of a fight. Nothing extraordinary health-wise had happened to me. I was a bit weaker than most kids, getting a few more colds than usual, but I never worried anyone. In seventh grade, I contracted strep, just like every middle schooler does at some point, but then I got it again. And then again. And then again, and again. I soon became acutely aware of my peers calling me sick girl. Whispers behind my back as I missed more and more school. And yet, I wasn’t even that abnormal.
That Christmas I had a tonsillectomy. Fairly routine procedure, nothing to be afraid of. If you’re healthy, at least. Months later it was brought to my attention that I had had mono and CMV at the time of surgery. That in conjunction with the strep had caused my immune system to go into overdrive. It attacked my autonomic nervous system. For years I had trouble with chronic pain, dizziness, vomiting, and severe fatigue. Most days I was in too much pain to get out of bed. I went to numerous doctors who gave me diagnoses ranging from cancer to stress.
It wasn’t until I was 15 that I learned I had Postural Orthestatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Finally, I had a name to put to my unrelenting illness. I had to drop out of school in the middle of my sophomore year to try to regain some normal function. I was able to go to homeschool program to finish out the rest of my high school career, but I felt robbed. From 12 to 18 I was stuck in my house. I wasn’t able to get a true high school experience. I used to scream and cry, so upset that my body couldn’t keep up with my mind. And yet, I’m now at college, living on my own, stronger than most of my peers. Through my years of struggle I became bolder and wiser. I wouldn’t give up a single day of my illness, it’s shaped my life in the most beautiful way.
Thank you so much for sharing your story! The end of what you wrote is incredibly inspiring. It is amazing to see someone prevailing and living so well after experiencing such a difficult illness that truly affect their lives. Your story truly is inspiring. Thank you, andthuspasses <3
On December 27, 2012 I went in for a routine laparoscopic surgery to figure out why I was having such debilitating cramps during my time of the month. My doctor kept reassuring me that I was going to be fine in no time. It’s a simple surgery and you’ll be healed and driving within a week. You’ll be walking out of surgery, no big deal. Almost seven hours of surgery and recovery later I woke up in one of the fancy hospital rooms in more pain than I have ever known was possible. Through the heavy layers of medicine, what I later found out was morphine, I saw my Mom and Dad at the foot of my bed. I thought I was paralyzed, everything hurt to move so I knew that I wasn’t really. The doctors told my Mom that she had to be the one to tell me my right ovary was removed. 5 millimeters in diameter, there was no ovary left. It was the size of a baseball. When my doctor first came to talk to my parents after surgery the first words out of her mouth were, we found a tumor. Thankfully it wasn’t cancerous but earth shaking none the less. At the time I was beyond drugged and I had no idea what was going on and I couldn’t grasp the fact that I had lost an ovary. I wasn’t even 21 yet. There’s no way I need to worry about my ovaries, right? Recovery was endless, painful beyond words, and taxing. And that was just the physical recovery. Everyday I am exposed to exactly what loosing my right ovary means and the nature of the situation that I’m in. At one point we thought I was going to lose my left ovary too, they’d found a cyst on it in February. (Thankfully it’s fine.) I know that it could be a lot worse and there are people in the world dealing with much bigger, critical things but it’s hard. I can’t really talk to my friends, I’m not sure they understand what I’m dealing with however sympathetic they are. I’m terrified of ‘what if’.
Thank you so much for your submission! Your story and strength are absolutely an inspiration to all of us. Despite what others may be dealing with, you are a survivor and are allowed to feel whatever you want to feel regarding your condition. And just know that there are people here who support you and who are always here to listen!! <3 Thank you akallyn!
I had a really big phase where I would read stories on the website GivesMeHope.com. It’s a place where you can share a short story of to readers in hopes that it will inspire and create some sense of hope within their own lives. And today on Poked and Prodded, I want to share one of those stories with you.
When I was growing up, there was a boy at my school who I will simply call R. Around the time we began 2nd grade, R started to use a motorized scooter most of the time rather than walk or run like the normal kids. I didn’t understand why, but it didn’t matter to me. In 3rd grade, I went to R’s house for a playdate. I remember seeing that they were building an elevator in his house and when we swam in his pool, he had to remain on a raft, he couldn’t actually swim with me. Soon enough, R was confined to a wheelchair. I still didn’t really know why, but it still didn’t matter.
I later learned that R had muscular dystrophy, a debilitating disease that slowly paralyzes those who suffer from it. Because MD effects muscles, it eventually causes heart failure. R wasn’t meant to live past the age of 18. I saw R today, and I am pretty sure he is turning 25 in August. He is completely paralyzed and co-dependent, but he is still here. And that really gives me hope.
I witnessed R’s disease. I saw him go from a normal kid to the kid in the scooter, then the wheelchair, and now a paraplegic. I saw his friends slowly abandon him because they didn’t know how to handle his disease. But he still goes shopping with his mom, he posts on Facebook, and he loves sports. He inspires me.
I’ll be honest, I am terrified for the day when I go on Facebook or something and find that his battle has ended. But until that day arrives, I will continue to feel inspired by him. His disease is so much worse than mine will ever be. But he is still here, still living and breathing, and still giving me hope. He may not really be in my life anymore as a classmate, but I am grateful for every day that he is still here.
—Lauren
(Source: tu-etole, via the-absolute-best-posts)
Feel free to send your stories, messages of support, or questions for the admins/followers at any time.
And please help continue to spread the word about Poked and Prodded! The community of those of us who are patients and survivors on Tumblr may be small, but it exists!
as soon as i’m old enough i’m getting this quote tatooed on the back of my neck with all of the dates of my oporations(:
Beautiful and inspiring.
(via es-c4pe)
