I know, I know, I know. . .

Tuesday can't get here fast enough. After being told by my last counselor, that she didn't want to talk about the issues I'm having with fibromyalgia; I called my fibro doc and he recommended someone who specializes in pain, fatigue and fibromyalgia. I really need to talk to someone who understands this life-changing experience who understands what I'm going through. After a little over a month, I finally have my first appointment. I have to admit, it's been tough hanging in this long. I keep promising myself that I won't make this blog a woe is me pity party. But right now, this is my life. The good, bad, ugly and scary.

There is a very real possibility that Eddie is going to either have his classes cut by 50% or be furloughed because of the (evil) Genius Gov. Corbett's funding cuts to education. I'm not working because of the fibromyalgia. Both Eddie and I have pre-existing conditions so we NEED his insurance benefits. He already wants to get a 2nd part-time job until the disability situation is taken care of. He says, just in case. I can see the worry on his face. He tries to hide it because he knows that stress can aggravate the fibro. I hide my stress because he's already taken on so much responsibility. We're both trying to hold things together for the sake of each other, but we can't keep it up much longer. I know we're both close to running on empty.

I have this internal battle that I should just suck it up and get a job and when things calm down, I can stop working. Except, that's what led to everything falling apart in 9/09. Eddie, our family and my doctors don't think that's the best idea. I don't think I can be working while I file a claim for disability. So it's a double-edged sword. But what else can I do? I don't like the idea of Eddie working himself to the point of exhaustion. He can't, because he needs to take care of himself too. He volunteers this without hesitation; all the while, I feel like a horrible person for being the cause of all this. How can I do this to him?

So Tuesday can't get here fast enough. In my head the answers are there, it's just getting to them. I'm like a deer in the headlights and I need someone to help guide me in the right direction rather than focus on issues that have been hashed out and taken care of (at least for now.) And I promise, I'll get away from the morose posts once I'm back to myself.

Identity Theft

As children, we dream about who we would be when we grow up. Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher, Super Hero, Princess. We go through life planning and preparing for our future, course correcting when needed but still keeping that childhood vision. Me, I wanted to be a dolphin trainer/teacher/doctor/lawyer/musician. By college, I honed in on exactly what it is I wanted to be and started the journey to realizing the grownup me.

What I didn't count on, what I didn't prepare for, was that at 33, I would find myself filling out paperwork for disability. This isn't me, this isn't the life I dreamed of. Someone Something has hijacked my life and taken over. This surely can't be my life, it can't be me. I have spent nearly two years going to doctors, trying therapies, taking more medicine than I have ever taken in my entire life until this point. All with the hopes that I would find a way to return back to work. I'll get better, I'll learn how to deal with it, put it behind me.

The problem with that is your brain may say go, go, go. Your body, on the other hand, will stop you cold in your tracks. My body did just that. It shut down and in a big way. I no longer had control over what was happening. In my head, I watched as I spun out of control, a slow burn that exploded on impact. It was unexpected, inevitable and horrifying. I barely recognize myself and I don't remember nearly an entire year of my life.

I've been told that fibromyalgia typically shows up this way. Mostly because after countless doctors appointments, tests, medicines and therapies you still feel no relief. So you begin to think it's all in your head, that it will go away. So I pushed myself to do better. I worked harder, more hours to overcome the sinking feeling of the world crumbling around you. I could have asked for help or said I was overwhelmed. I tried to not let it isolate me from the life that is happening around me. But over 5 years of no answers and more symptoms at some point you just. . . give up.

It was easier to not make plans. If you don't interact with people, you can't let them down by not being able to do something as simple as go to dinner. I allowed this thing to hold me hostage. I confided in virtual strangers because it was easier than letting someone close watch my downward spiral. Strangers can't hurt you the way the betrayal of a close friend can. It was minimizing the debris field of my life.

No,this is not me. Not who I planned to be. That's ok, because this doesn't have to stay me. Only I can determine who I really am and I refuse to let this be the deciding factor in my life.