Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I Write About My Health Because ... (HAWMC #6)

The WEGO Health challenge prompt for April 6 was to think about (and write about) why we blog.

I write about my health for many reasons:
  • To keep my friends and extended family updated about changes and developments since I got sick back in June 2007. For the first few months, I sent emails to an increasingly long list of relatives and friends who asked to be kept in the loop. I switched to blogging for efficiency's sake in October 2007, never imagining anyone who didn't already know me would ever read my blog.
  • In the hopes that someone will recognize my symptoms and help me (and my doctors) figure out what the heck is wrong with me. No, I don't get medical advice over the internet. But my primary care doc and I have found it helpful when people have suggested she consider ordering various tests for me. Sometimes she says no, that's not really a concern and explains why not. Other times, she agrees it's worth checking out. That's how we discovered that I had low ferritin levels. 
  • To combat feelings of isolation by getting to know other people who are also mostly or entirely housebound due to chronic illness. While I wouldn't wish chronic illness on anyone, it is comforting (to me) to find other people who know what it's like. 
  • To offer support to and share information with other people, especially those who also struggle to get a diagnosis and/or are parenting with chronic illness. I'm so grateful for all the support I've gotten from the online chronic illness community, and I love opportunities to pay it forward.
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Meanwhile, take a few minutes to go check out the latest edition of Patients For A Moment, my favorite blog carnival. Hayzell got so many fabulous contributions that you absolutely should go read!! 

2 comments:

Queen of Optimism said...

I'm really enjoying your posts! I hope to get aligned with WEGO Health's initiatives soon! they are awesome!!

Thinking of you lots!!

Peter Waite said...

I loved this post. We write about health because we want to reach out others and want others to reach out to us. These bonds are what help us grow and heal. Thanks! ~ Peter