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Being Thankful For RA

Leslie Rott's avatar image

By Leslie Rott

1 min read

It sounds weird.  It sounds almost antithetical to say that you are thankful for a chronic illness.

But in reality, I am thankful for RA.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.

I wouldn’t have found my chosen career path.

I wouldn’t have started a blog.

I wouldn’t have met so many amazing people through the chronic illness online community.

When I first got sick, I worried that anyone I met would not know a key part of me, that there was a part of me that was missing that I couldn’t get back.  But I think the opposite is actually true.

There is an essence of myself that has been enhanced.  People are totally seeing the “real” me.

I haven’t lost myself.

In fact, RA helped me find myself.

It’s hard to explain.  If you haven’t been in this position, it’s hard to understand.

My life is certainly different than it was before I got sick, and in many ways, it was easier.  But it was a life that I was living for everyone other than myself.

But now I live for me.  Now I live for today.

And despite my illnesses, I hope for tomorrow.

So this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for my family and friends, for my boyfriend, for the opportunities I have been given.  I don’t take them for granted.

I’m thankful for the good days, and wish the bad days were less (and less bad).

I’m thankful for my old medical team and my new medical team.

I’m thankful for a break from school to catch up on life.

I’m thankful for all of the opportunities I have to share my experiences with illness, and for all those who listen, read, and hear what I have to say.

And I’m grateful for this crazy, strange, beautiful journey I’m on and all the places I have left to go and things I have left to do.

What are you thankful for?

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