Here We Go Again: Dealing with Chronic Illnesses

Well, here we go again, with some new health issues. Are my health issues related to my hep C? I am not sure, to be honest, but it feels that way. Otherwise, I am just one of the unluckiest people around. There is no clear link I can point to, only that I believe that my immune response has been altered forever.

I am not here to whine, although a good whine can be liberating. Those who know me will know I am not one to sit around and simply complain and do nothing to affect some change. I share so that someone else can learn from my own experience or know that they are not alone in their own struggles.

Why is this happening?

Have you had what feels like a never-ending string of health issues, whether big or small?
I know a lot of us have. In the absence of any confirmation that there is a connection (by healthcare providers and research on all of the effects), we are left to wonder- WHY? Sound familiar to you? I am not trying to cause fear, or talk anybody into anything. It has been a long road since my own cure eight years ago. I don’t blame anyone or anything, because the things and people were never meant to cause harm, and my eyes were wide open, most of the time anyway.

Is it genetic?

I believe that genes and hereditary pre-disposition to different illness plays a role, and maybe I am simply unlucky. Luck is one of those things that not everyone agrees with, I know, but another way of putting it might be random? Who knows. What I do know, is that a number of people (many!) I know have dealt with some difficult health issues for decades after living with hep C. However, being cured is great, and is great unquestionably in my opinion. If I had not treated when I did, it is unclear where things would be now. But, the big question remains to me: was there anything I did that exacerbated these health battles?

If it isn’t one thing, it’s six!

As I wrote about a few years ago, “if it isn’t one thing”, it’s six, this has not slowed. I am big on humor as a way to deal with difficult situations and issues, as much as possible, and I have a rule that I need as much laughter in a day as possible. It is not infallible or a cure for all that ails me, but it sure helps. In a recent hospital stay, dealing with something very serious, I still managed somehow to have a few laughs, even if only at my expense. The thing is that although I am not thrilled about these battles, and always hope that things can and usually do get better, here we go again, with yet another chronic illness.