What Illness Can Reveal

I just read something truly inspiring this morning and had to share it with you all.

“Cancer has changed my life for the better. It’s made me a better human being. It stripped away all of the walls and the barriers...It exposes any lie in your life whatsoever. It exposes who’s not really there for you and who really is there for you,” - Shannen Doherty

This is 1000000000% true and hits home in more ways than one.  It exposes any lie in your life whatsoever is so striking to me. One of the things I will never forget (stroke joke) is how so called friends just disappeared when I was sick. I don't know what it is about sickness or change that scares people. It was incredibly painful to have to come to the realization that those who I would have immediately run to if they were sick, wouldn't do the same for me. In some ways, that was one of the worst parts of my recovery but I am thankful for it. It has made the circle I do have, tighter and stronger.

I'm often reminded of someone I was friends with in college who was suffering from MS. During my senior year, she took a turn for the worse and went from walking as any healthy person to using a cane, to being in a wheelchair.  We were in a class together. I noticed how hard things became for her and immediately jumped in to help her. No one else did. I was shocked that none of her peers would even ask how she was. It was as though MS was an elephant in the room. When we graduated, we lost touch but I still think about her. I think about what she taught me.

Remember, your illness can also be your blessing. Pay attention to all it can show you.

“It’s this brilliant thing where you just look around and think, ‘Oh my God, this person is amazing, they’re showing up for me in a way I never expected.’” - Shannen Doherty