Waiting, Parting, Persevering, Affirming, and Loving are our 5 prompts for the month of October. Joining again with A Chronic Voice is always a thought-provoking exercise that I look forward to. As I study each word it pushes me to express my life with chronic illness in a new way. Perspective is so important when you live with a chronic illness. I have many chronic illnesses, so I have learned the great need I have for a healthy perspective in my life. Having multiple chronic illnesses means that I’m faced with a lifetime of sickness and pain. Chronic means that it’s always there and not curable. Having a healthy outlook…

I started a diet. Wow, how many times have we all said that. Maybe you are thin and don’t need a diet, but I know many of us do. My diets usually last one day, two at the most. I blame my illnesses for the difficulty in losing weight. Before I got sick, I worked out and watched my weight. I was a few pounds overweight then, but was still at a good BMI. Once I started taking all the prescription drugs to help me deal with the various symptoms, the weight started to creep on. During the last year, the weight was coming on very fast. I was gaining…