Believe me when I say the LAST thing I want is to be shut up in my house all day everyday… I do not do this by choice! Before chronic illness struck, I loved nothing more than working my job as a medically professional in the dental office 5 days per week, in additional I would regularly go out with friends perhaps to see a movie, go out to lunch/dinner on the weekends, I loved taking my dogs to the beach or on short hikes or to the dog park. I enjoyed camping, and short day or weekend trips traveling/exploring.
Now however, my medical condition consumes most of my daily energy and requires my full-time attention. My body requires a lot of specialized adaptive devices, a very strict diet, many medications and supplements throughout each day. That combined with my frequent viral infections, mobility challenges and severe fatigue, there just is nothing left in my day to use my limited energy resources to get out into the world much.
It is hard to accept how much my life has changed, how much I have lost, and how much my illness has forced me to reinvent myself just to survive. I am still the April I was inside of this broken body, a fun-loving, bubbly, extroverted, outgoing, adventure-loving, sports-loving person… but for now, this April had to stay home and keep my health as my top priority to stay as well as possible. It is already an incredible emotional burden for those of us who are medically home-bound and isolated, so please do not add to our burden by saying things like “you should try to get out more”, “you should just get some more fresh air”, “a little trip out of the house would do you some good”… we know that it would be GREAT to get out of the house more, and we want that more than you would ever know… but we are just doing our best to get through life with a very challenging situation.
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