#fibromayalgia

Howdy everybody.

I know this isn’t art related but I thought you guys oughta know what’s been going on with me. You have a right to know.

The past three years have been really hard for me.

As a junior in high school, I had three consecutive kidney stones, resulting in monthly sessions of crying and puking for hours on end. I had to change my diet drastically, cutting out soda, coffee, nuts, soy, chocolate, spinach and many other foods, some of which are supposed to be good for your kidneys. Not for me.

My senior year, I was diagnosed and treated for endometriosis via laparoscopy. In that same surgery, I was diagnosed with Intercystial Cistitis. These chronic illnesses usually go hand in hand, so it’s a double whammy. The IC limited my diet even further, eliminating acidic and spicy foods, which I adore and miss very much.

And now, my kidney pain is back long with very bad IC flare ups. I’ve had to miss a lot of school and it’s been very stressful trying to catch up. We also think I may have Fibromayalgia, resulting in fatigue and full body muscle tightness and pain.

What I’m trying to say is that these illnesses have taken a toll on me. I will be having a CT scan over the summer, and hopefully find what’s causing my kidney pain, after an ultrasound yielded no results.

Your continued support and love for my art really lifts my spirits, and I thank you for that. I am very grateful for the care I have been able to receive to help my conditions, and I sincerely hope that others with these conditions will find good care as well.

That being said, I hope that we can all be more understanding of each other, and know that everybody has a struggle in their life, whether it’s their situation, mental or physical health, relationships or financial struggles.

Be kind to one another.

Listen to one another.

You never know what somebody is going through.

Thank you very much for all the love and support,

You ARE strong. Even though you may not feel it. Even though you may not think it. Even if all you can manage is transitioning from your bed to the couch, you still did it! Strong doesn’t mean we can all run up mountains. You just have to keep going. Forwards is where it’s at. Not backwards. Never forget that. 

And if you don’t believe in you, I do.