It is an undisputed fact for those that know me well that I should not be alive. The life that I have lived has been complicated at times, and seems like it’s been 70 years long instead of 35. What started the complications was that I was born with a condition that created lots of trials for me growing up in a teeny southern town. The only cure for this condition is brain surgery. Until high school, i never knew anyone with hydrocephalus. I just knew my head was heavy, running was a terrible idea, and I tripped a lot. Also that my head was very very big evidently. I went to a conference and was dumbfounded. Those kids and adults had had way more than four brain surgeries! Also that those kids and adults were ridiculously happy go lucky and felt fortunate to be alive.
My anxiety about functioning in the world with hydrocephalus was often misconstrued as other things. Then came blood clots, then came a withdrawal after heart ache, then intracranial bleeds, and then full on survival mode. Somehow, I’m still standing. But now I have to function with a new level of pain, a weird gait, and rolling cognition. Life is weird. Invisible illnesses are weird too. And hard. Especially in this new world we live in that seems to change by the second. Be kind out there, readers. You never know what battles someone is fighting. ❤️