"But you don't look sick." I have heard it more times than I can count. Try reading that phrase a few times in different tones of voice. I know that it is often intended as a compliment. Sometimes it is blurted out as an impulsive reaction of shock or disbelief when someone first learns of my health battles. Other times, it is said with a dismissive tone, intended to discredit the entirety of my experience as a person with severe chronic illness, simply because those illnesses are invisible...to you.
If I had to sum it up simply yet incompletely, having an invisible illness is quite the predicament; a very strange, isolating, and painful predicament. It is unique in the worst way. Painful in more ways than can be described in words.
I can't help but scream these words about life with chronic illness. I never wanted or imagined my life to be this way, but there is no escaping what became my reality nine years ago. I am so grateful to be able to see the possibilities and promises in spite of that reality. I feel compelled to help as many people as possible understand this journey in some way, and to help those who are experiencing something similar to feel less abandoned. I want my friends with invisible illness to know that beyond those who truly understand what it is like to walk in their shoes, there are countless other supporters who stand fervently by our sides. I can only hope that my shouting will in some way give a voice those who suffer in silence.
