A website I love, and am a moderator on is But You Don’t Look Sick. This wonderful website and forums is for people with chronic illnesses and their caregivers/family members, offering a wonderful, caring community of people who understand the frustrations of having a chronic illness (or multiple) and dealing with doctors and people who don’t think you look sick or think you’re too young to be sick, etc. Sunday, July 27 is the 5th anniversary of the site, and I took this photo in honor of it! One of the major cornerstones of BYDLS is The Spoon Theory, written by the site’s founder Christine Miserandino (now Donato) to help explain to other people how chronic illnesses like lupus, fibromyalgia, etc. affect a person and what they can and can’t do. So spoons are a big topic of conversation over there.
I have multiple chronic illnesses, and have had my fair share of adventures with doctors to get diagnoses, as well as having people tell me I don’t look sick or I’m too young to be that sick. I’m better than I was a few years ago; I have a wonderful doctor who has helped me treatment-wise tremendously and a wonderful boyfriend who cares for and supports me in any way he can. However, that’s no substitute for the fantastic men and women at BYDLS, who are some of the most caring, kind, understanding people I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with.
