Things Remembered: Nieces’ Baby Picture #HAWMC
Excited to answer today’s #HAWMC question! It’s Day 8:
Things Remembered: What is an item you have kept with you that reminds you of an important time in your life? Whether it was a good day, a stressful time, or a happy moment… why does this item remind you of that period of your life? #HAWMC
I’ve kept a picture of my two nieces from when they were two and three-years old in my wallet. For ten years. Even though they’re both in junior high, I still treasure that picture. Over the years, they’ve given me lots of other pictures, which are all in my wallet. When I was diagnosed and hospitalized with Myasthenia Gravis in 2008, they gave me their class photos with messages on the back telling me to get better and that they were praying for me. It was a very tense time in my life. When I had the stint inserted in my neck (and taken out) I was not allowed anesthesia. When I had plasmapharesis (similar to dialysis; it’s cleaning of the blood), I also had no anesthesia. I could smell my blood and the other patients’ blood. But the other patients, my “classmates,” got to sleep through it, while I was wide awake. Going into the dialysis room everyday for two weeks, I would carry one of their pictures with me because that was all I could fit into the palm of my hand.
What Is A “Perfect Day”?
But that first picture from their toddler years happened before I got MG so it feels like it was a thousand years ago. I remember spending a lot of time at my cousin’s house that summer. I was interning for her; she’s an attorney. Being with her and her family takes me back to a peaceful, perfect summer. Playing with the kids, watching their deep imagination, and reading with them was beautiful. If you ask me today what a perfect day is, I would say it would be a day without pain or fatigue. Who likes waking up in pain everyday? But a “perfect day” is also any day spent with my nieces and nephews. I often blog about my nephews Tyson and Mikko–even just going out for frozen yogurt with them is a joyful occasion. Seeing the pictures of my nieces and nephews in my wallet reminds me that pain cannot take away all the joy in my life. As I blogged about in Chronic Illness & Self-Sabotaging: 5 Attitudes to Avoid, one of the pitfalls in fighting illness is to romanticize the past and view everything pre-illness as “good” and everything since then as “bad.” My nieces and nephews remind me that MG cannot take away everything. Beauty and goodness remain.
Stay Tuned!
Everyday this month, I’m answering a new question from WEGO’s Challenge.
–Your Stylist, Jessica Gimeno
My perfect day would be to take off sailing in a boat on a sunny day, in my swimsuit, on a tropical ocean, with my husband and son. I love the water and the way a sailboat slices like a knife, through the waves. Having lupus for 32 years has meant that I must avoid the sun’s most intense rays during the middle of the day. Exposure to the UV rays will flare up my lupus symptoms, even while being slathered with sunscreen. To spend time outside, I must use sunscreen and wear long sleeved protective clothing and wide-brimmed hats. So, a free day would be to frolic in the sun without any worries about lupus flares. Ahhhhh!
I forgot to add that the item that I cherish is My Swimsuit! It is the thing that reminds me of the freedom I once had from lupus…….