It’s been almost one month since my amaaaazing wedding day, so I guess it’s time to tell you guys all about it. I will try to keep it semi-short because we all know I could write a novel about it. So I’ll write a novella instead. You should grab a cup of coffee because you […] Read more…
A New Hope: Lisa’s Inspirational* Botox Journey
*Hahaha jk THE BEFOREMATH As you are probably aware, I was diagnosed last December with gastroparesis after many months of extreme stomach and back pain, nausea, vomiting, and general feelings of an alien baby trying to rip itself out of my abdominal area. Gastroparesis is a condition that affects the movement of the muscles in […] Read more…
This is a blog post full of my feels about not being able to work and other uncool things
*CW: ableism, self-doubt, self-esteem issues, mental health, chronic pain. Some days I’m funny and I write funny things on my blog. And some days I do the opposite of that, like right now. Some days I feel like a failure. Some days I feel like a fraud. Some days I feel okay. Some days I […] Read more…
WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING, BODY?!
There is no right or wrong way to react to being diagnosed with a disease. Everyone lives differently and everyone grieves differently. When I was diagnosed with a disease I held onto that diagnosis like it was a life vest and I was thrown overboard into an unforgiving ocean because that is honestly what it […] Read more…
Guest Post: 10 Reasons Why Chronic Illness is One Big, Stupid Joke
I’m Ardra and I write Tripping on Air, a lippy blog about my life with multiple sclerosis (MS). People tell me it’s funny and I believe them because I’m an egomaniac. Lisa asked me to write a guest post about why I write with humour, about something so effing awful. Lisa is lazy or she […] Read more…
My Stomach is Still Broken and Everything is the Worst
You are probably already aware that I have gastroparesis because I hashtag every single one of my instagram posts #gastroparesis even if the posts are about random things like a new iron-on patch for my jean jacket. With that being said, I should probably tell you that I have a new iron-on patch for my […] Read more…
The Magical Healing Power of Stories*
*Books won’t actually physically cure you of a disease. “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” – Joan Didion I have kind of a love/hate relationship with books about illnesses. I flock to them like a seagull flocks to a McDonald’s parking lot, but most of the time I come away feeling disappointed, probably also like […] Read more…
Lisa Tries Vlogging!
I have been trying to come up with ways to reach a broader audience (like people who don’t want to read 7 page long blog posts) so I decided to turn some of those blog posts into videos. I know that there are a million vlogs out there, but I really got the push to […] Read more…
The Brain Fog Blog
I’m currently sitting in my armchair with a heating pad wrapped around my hip, an ice pack velcroed around my neck, and a large “cooling pad” tucked into that neck ice pack to form a makeshift cone of chillness, which is kind of like a dog cone but for human adults whose musculoskeletal systems want to […] Read more…
You’re Not Making Up Your Chronic Illness
An edited and much less sarcastic version of this essay was published last year on xoJane. You can find it here: http://www.xojane.com/issues/chronic-illness-isnt-made-up Yesterday was Rare Disease Day so I spent a lot of time reading stories and watching videos by people who were diagnosed with rare diseases. Across the board, most people had something in common: […] Read more…