"But I keep cruising/Can't stop, won't stop moving/It's like I've got this music/In my mind/Saying it's gonna be alright"
A direct quote from me: "'Cause sometimes you just have to shake it off, yo". Nothing is more true of that than having a chronic disease and being a target for bullies. There's a lot more that goes with a chronic disease like Crohn's than just the disease itself. When I'm hospitalized, which happens more than I'd like to admit, bloodwork often shows up at 6;30-7;00am. There's nothing like having that as a wake-up call. Then there are times that you're told that you can't eat. I spent from February of this year until June without being allowed to eat solid foods. Do you have any idea how many food references there are out there? I do. A lot. Then there's the disease itself and the complications from it, the side effects from the treatments, the symptoms that can stop you from doing even simple things. It's a lot to deal with. But sometimes you just have to "Shake it Off". I can't control my disease, but I can control how I let it get to me. If I start the day upset with being woken up by bloodwork, and don't shake it off, it would make for a very long day. If I'm angry at all the disease has taken from me, and don't accept my new limitations, it's only going to make coping with my disease daily that much harder.
I've wrote before about being a "victim" of bullying. I can't tell you enough how much it hurts. When I started my Crohn's journey, I was tiny. Within a few months on the steroids, I pretty much almost tripled my weight. It was hard enough physically to deal with these extreme changes, but the reaction from others really hurt. It felt like other kids were trying to tell me that it was wrong to be me, that there was something that made me not lovable. I began to dread seeing some of these faces when I went to school. People think that looking physically different makes you different. It doesn't. It makes me human. If we were all the same, what a boring world that world be. With my NG Feeding tube (naso-gastric tube) coming out of my nose and attached to my face, I get a lot of stares. People move away from me. I hear other kids whisper and see them point. These actions also hurt. My message I'd like to share is that you're perfect just the way you are. Bullies seek power. Don't let them have the power over you by believing in their words. By being who you are and staying true to that, you're just like being a superhero.
Jacob's Healing Rooms will help other kids to shake off their problems and let them be a kid again while receiving medical treatments. Please help support my wish of making Jacob's Healing Rooms a place that all kids can be encouraged to be who they are and be proud of how far they have come along on their journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment