The Reason I Blog

    I have been asked why I blog and allow the world to read what I go through on a daily basis. Honestly, my main reason for blogging is because I need an emotional outlet. I also blog to keep my family and friends updated as to my condition since most of my family lives so far away from me. It becomes overwhelming to keep my family updated and to keep answering the same questions about which doctors I had seen, which tests I'd had and what the results were, and so forth.
   Blogging really has been an amazing form of therapy for me, and it also offers a connection to other people who are dealing with some sort of life-altering illness. After all, I'd gone from an independent working mother of three to barely being able to care for myself, seemingly overnight.
   The connection I have to the chronic illness community was a lifeline. There is a shared experience among people who are chronically ill, no matter what the diagnosis is. It is so comforting to have the empathy from people who have been there and done that and were still able to cope, somehow.
   The initial onset of Vasculitis was an emotional roller coaster. The high doses of Prednisone and the chemotherapy certainly do not help matters. There is something so very cathartic about putting it all out there into the void of the Internet. I think blogging would've still been helpful to me even if nobody ever read my words. The fact that people do read my blogs is an honor to me! Maybe someone can take something from my life story and find ways to cope with their own situations.
   Blogging also helped me to process what was happening to me. I am a writer- I have been one since childhood. I honestly think my brain doesn't understand anything until it's gone from my fingertips to either paper or a computer screen. 
   I can't think of a downside to educating myself to be able to understand what's going on with my body and with my various health conditions. Educating myself helps me feel like I am at least a little in control of my health. I might not be able to cure myself or avert a flare, but at least I can understand what is going on with my health and ask educated questions of my various doctors. 
   So who am I when I am not a patient? I am a mother to three amazing children who do EVERYTHING they can to help me. I am getting ready to marry my best friend for the second time...a man who goes to no ends to make sure we all are okay and provided for. My illness limits what I can do with my children, but I am always there for them no matter how bad I feel. I am a chef even on my bad days. I always make sure my family has home-cooked meals to enjoy. I am an avid reader (mainly of horror stories). I am an excellent listener and a great friend. I am a daughter to the best mother in the world. Without her and my step-father's support, I would be lost. And of course, I am a writer. I would be completely lost without my words. I am not a verbal person because my brain just doesn't work that way. 
   When I write, I can express all kinds of emotions that I don't talk about otherwise. It allows me to connect with people who live anywhere in the world. It's personal. I am an open-book when it comes to writing. 
   And that is why I blog....I hope you all have a blessed rest of your weekend and enjoy some quality time with your family.