Declaring My Independence
Tomorrow is Independence Day, a holiday most often celebrated with picnics and barbecues. Ironically, for the 5 million of us with gastroparesis, these food-centered events will remind us that we are not independent — at least when it comes to what, when, and how we eat (or how we feel afterward).
Gastroparesis is a life-altering disease. In many ways, it controls not only what we can eat but also what we can do because of the constant nausea, vomiting, pain, or lack of energy. That being said, those of us with GP still have the same choices as everyone else when it comes to our perspective on life.
We can look at our situation through a lens of positivity or one of negativity. Optimism or pessimism. Love or anger. Hope or despair. We can put our lives on hold. Shut the world out. Give up on the future. Or, we can choose to take control of our situation. We can educate and empower ourselves. We can nourish our minds and our spirits, even when we can’t nourish our bodies. We can lend an ear, a shoulder, a hand to others who are suffering. We can acknowledge and give thanks for joy wherever we can find it.
So for me this 4th of July isn’t about hot dogs and hamburgers. It’s not about fireworks or ice cream. It’s about choices. Making the choice, every single day, to live my life despite the gastroparesis…that’s how I’m declaring my independence from this disease.
Related Posts:
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
3 Responses to “Declaring My Independence”
Leave a Reply
Having done both I find being positive and looking towards the future the best option. If I had given up I wouldn’t have known how much I can do despite having GP. Great post!
[...] the way I see it, I don’t have a choice whether or not I have gastroparesis. I do, however, get to choose whether or not I roll over and wallow in the suckiness. I choose…not. And I choose to [...]
[...] How is it July already? It seems like just last week that I was giving you tips for a GP-friendly Memorial Day (which are just as applicable to July 4th). At any rate, I thought I’d post a few GP-friendly alternatives to the traditional picnic fare before the holiday weekend officially kicks off. Wishing you all a happy and symptom-free Independence Day! [...]