I have a Type A personality. Generally speaking , people with a “Type A” personality are described as driven, hardworking, determined to succeed, multi-tasking, fast paced, impatient, and restless. We are ambitious, do not like to waste time, highly goal oriented and prefer to spend our time working. We feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment only when our to do lists and action items are completed.
I also am a Type A personality, as an Autoimmune.
Absolute exhaustion. Chronic fatigue. Fevers. Radiating burning pain throughout my entire body. Nausea. Anxiety. Depression. Swollen fingers, hips. forearms, knees, ankles, and so on.
What is an Autoimmune Disease? In simple terms, it is when your body mistakenly attacks your own organs and tissues. My body is in a constant battle with itself.
So what happens when you take a Type A ^ and trap them in a body with not one, not two, but three autoimmune diseases? Well, that’s where this blog comes in – Chronically Fabulous. Currently, I have diagnosed Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, and we are waiting on further diagnoses. My therapist likes to say I am a person with many things to do trapped in a body that is unable to essentially do any.
I will never forget the day I knew everything changed. I was 26 years old walking up the flight of steps to work with my former coworker. She told me to move it and that I was as slow as her grandmother. My hips were on fire, and my legs felt like lead weights. It was as if cinder blocks were tied to my feet. This was the first time I had to army crawl my way up the steps, and unfortunately it would not be my last.
I wish I could go back to the day before that day. The day my life changed forever. I don’t remember what it feels like to not be in pain anymore. I think about it often. Four long years have come and gone, and I still remember that day. The day the lead weights held me down. Today, lead weights not only hold my ankles down making it hard to move, but they hold down my spirit, my soul, and my mind.
Welcome to Chronically Fabulous – Chapter One.
Chronically Fabulous 