Have you ever hit rock bottom? That place where all your worst fears come true, and somehow you are still alive?
I knew as long as I could exercise, I could make it through anything. No matter how tough the challenge.
But what happens when I could no longer exercise? What happens when I can no longer follow my path to be a surgeon because I can't stand for more than seven minutes without passing out?
What happens when any type of physical activity makes me pass out? Imagine, one day you are able to do a 50-mile bike ride, and the next you can no longer stand up right. That is what dysautonomia did to me.
This powerful and enlightening book will take you on the journey of a perfectionist marathon runner that develops a chronic illness that will change her life forever. See the choices she must make, the adversity she must face, and the strength it takes to make it through each day.
Written by the patient herself, you will get an inside look at how chronic illness turns the lives of successful, young adults upside down.
This book will show you: -How hard working individuals are broken by chronic illness. -The adversity people face when they have an illness yet look healthy. - How little awareness of invisible disabilities like dysautonomia causes patients problems in everyday life. -The problems with our conventional treatment of chronic conditions. - How invisible illness often causes mental illness, including anxiety and depression. -The positives that can come out of invisible illness. -How you can help people with chronic illness without changing your everyday life.
Together, we can make the lives of people with invisible, chronic illness just a little bit easier.
This book is great in the way it draws attention to the struggles a person with an invisible illness deals with on a daily basis. I particularly liked the author's chapter on the mental health repercussions she suffered as a consequence of her illness. I know I often think of illness in a physical sense, so seeing the emotional and mental health side really helped me more fully understand how the author felt. The author also calls attention to the need for more acceptance of and research on invisible illnesses. If you are looking for a glimpse into the life of someone with an invisible illness, this book will offer an open, honest view written in a clear, no-nonsense style.
This was a great timeline of her journey to find a diagnosis in a world where far too many medical professionals still think of a horse when they hear hoof sounds. I am a zebra ( Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) also have POTS and a hand full of other diagnosis. I was able to relate to everything she writes. Thank you Elena, for sharing your journey!!! Purchased and reviewed under my wonderful husbands account.
I never heard of this illness but I know the feeling of what she thinks people judge her because of the illness. Because I go through that all the time with my seizures and feel tired after the seizure