living with chronic illness

The Shadow Boxers – a book review

/ simplywendi / 73 Comments
photo of woman in boxing gloves

Photo by Heloisa Freitas on Pexels.com

 

I am super excited to kick off my 2020 book review series with, The Shadow Boxers – Fighting Fibromyalgia – Your Personal Journey by Kim Johnson & Karen Anderson.  My goal is to review 6 books, all written by individuals living with chronic illness(es).  If you are an writer and would like me to review your book, at my cost, please send me a message.

The Shadow Boxers was purchased from Amazon using personal funds and the review is completely my own.

 

My initial impression of the book is that I really liked the size.  It is not too big or small and fit in my hands perfectly.  This may seem like an unusual observation but I have purchased books that were just too small for my hands to hold easily and therefore caused pain or too big and akward to hold, again causing discomfort.  The print is also a good size, making the words easy to read.  Another bonus is the colors on the cover of the book are easy on the eyes creating another asthetic win.

Shadow Boxers covers all the basics of fibromyalgia, which I have to admit, although I thought I knew a lot about the illness, I still learned quite a bit.  The authors’ used not only their stories, but stories of others, allowing us to take a peek into the life of those who live with  fibromyalgia and how the illness can affect people in different ways.

But what I loved most about this book is that it is for you to write in.   You are an active part of the book, the main character, and with that honor it is imperative that you do your part.   Each chapter is followed by a one sentence prompt and it is a place for you to express your own thoughts and feelings, with enough space to write a rather lengthy commentary.

Although I did not write in the book, I did use the prompts to express my own thoughts and I found what I wrote to be quite insightful, I just substituted fibromyalgia for the main illness that I deal with.  Active participation is a MUST to get the most out of this book……..it is meant to be written in, to explore your own feelings, to express your frustrations and your inner most thoughts.  Once you have made your way through the book, it would be like having a productive counseling session and a whole lot cheaper.

Kim can be found blogging at I Tripped Over a Stone and I highly recommend you check her out………she is an amazing human being and force to be reckoned with!

 

living our best life – in the kitchen

/ simplywendi / 127 Comments
yellow kitchenaid stand mixer

Photo by david yohanes on Pexels.com

 

As we are spending a little more time in the kitchen or thinking of holiday foods that we enjoy, I decided to write about the object in my kitchen that make my life easier.

I have to admit that I do not find much enjoyment from cooking.  I am thankful that on my good days I am able to feed my family healthy, mostly well balanced meals, but the smells and bending over and reaching makes me feel worse.  Even though I keep all of my frequently used items on the counters, I still feel poorly after preparing food.

To help me get through the whole, preparing a meal ordeal, I daily use my favorite kitchen appliance, putting it to good use.  It is my combination DVD/CD/radio that hangs under a kitchen cabinet next to the sink.  I received this from my parents who were getting rid of it and it has been one of my favorite gifts ever!

I turn it on every single time I am in the kitchen for more than a couple minutes.  I usually have a DVD playing as it does a wonderful job distracting me from pain and discomfort allowing me to stay in the kitchen longer.  Today there is a stack of my favorite Christmas DVDs waiting to be watched over the next month.

So, what about you?  What is your favorite kitchen appliance and how does it make your life easier?  

Thank you for taking the time to share!

 

living our best life possible – alternative medicine

/ simplywendi / 149 Comments
alternative background color cooking

Photo by PhotoMIX Ltd. on Pexels.com

 

Welcome back my friends!  Thank you so very much for joining me again for our next question on living our best life possible.

The question this week is………what alternative medical treatment(s) or recommendations, if any, have given you positive results?

A traditional medical path has, up to this point, provided minimal relief from any of my chronic illnesses.  As a result, I have sought out more non-traditional and alternative medical professionals through this very long and winding path towards (hopefully) healing.  But, do to the high cost of alternative medicine, there are many paths that I have yet to explore – but hope to some day.

I have experienced benefits from various supplements, following a grain-free diet, meditation, walking when able, and seeing a medical massage therapist once on month to help with muscle and joint pain.

How about you?  Please share your experiences!

 

~ Please note – no one on here is providing medical advice, we are only sharing personal experiences that have helped us on our journey.

the stupid(est) advice people have given me

/ simplywendi / 33 Comments
marketing man person communication

Photo by Gratisography on Pexels.com

 

I have heard, just like all of you, a lot of really dumb and sometimes hurtful things through my years of chronic illnesses.  I am going to share the medical suggestions that I  can remember, but I should have kept a running list, it would have filled volumes.

 

You are going to stop having children because you are ill?  That is biblically wrong, you should have as many as you are given.

You are going to have surgery to correct a congenital issue?  You need to try these drops first; my friend sells them, they are all-natural, and cured her from food allergies.

You are not praying hard enough to be cured.

You are paying for the sins of your parents.

You are paying for the sins of your forefathers; you should go listen to this pastor’s seminar on how to pray correctly to break the curse.

You do not truly believe that you will be healed, so therefore you won’t be.

If  you worked full-time you wouldn’t have time to think about your problems and you would feel better.

You should spend more time away from home and your family.

You need to go vegan.

You need to go vegetarian.

You need to go paleo.

You need to go gluten-free.

You need to go dairy-free

You need to adopt a raw diet.

You need to eat fermented foods.

You need to do a month long juice cleanse.

You need to go on a liquid diet.

You need to do the GAPS diet.

Essential oils in the proper combination can cure all ailments.

Get your chakras lined up properly.

Infrared sauna can cure your sicknesses.

Colonics eventually cures all sicknesses.

Vitamin C IV therapy cures everything.

If you didn’t worry so much your body would heal itself.

Have you tried mediating more often?

Your illnesses are all in your head.

Have you tried yoga?

You need to exercise more.

Ozone therapy will cure you.

Yea, I know how you feel having a chronic illness, I had a lot of morning sickness while pregnant.  You just need to rest more.

You should get rid of all indoor pets.

Visualize health and then you will be healthy.

Massage therapy will get rid of all the toxins stored in your body leading to a cure.

Acupuncture would heal you.

A RIFE machine has codes to cure all illnesses.

Using an infrared sauna cures everything if used regularly.

You should stop taking all meds and supplements.

You should start taking more meds and/or supplements.

You are taking the wrong meds and/or supplements.

You should check yourself into a good hospital and have them run all kinds of tests so you really know what is going on

You just need to learn to push through it, it makes you stronger.

 

Please know that I do NOT think any of the above suggestions are in and of themselves  bad.  In fact, I think many of the ideas could be beneficial to some, in addition to an appropriate health care plan.  I have just found it amazing that people, having no experience with chronic illness themselves, feel they are the ones to give the best advice.

I would love to hear the stupid(est!) advice you have been given.

Until next time…..