Living, Healing, and Hitting Pause: Navigating the quiet demands of life with chronic illness

It’s been a while…..

I was looking at my website and I realized something. I hadn’t written an article in 6 months! I thought to myself, where has the time gone? Just yesterday, it was 2025. And now it’s March 2026!?

I thought about why I took a pause from writing. And honestly, I think I just didn’t have anything to say. These last few months have been extremely difficult, and I couldn’t even find words of wisdom to give myself.

But, writing isn’t always about saying the most eloquent things. It’s about honesty, authenticity, and connection. So here I am, happy to be back and writing again!

These last few months

My health has not been very good over these last few months. Primarily, I have struggled with my lungs, largely due to respiratory infections and my lung disease, GLILD. I have taken antibiotics, over the counter medicine, etc. It feels like it is constantly one thing after another.

It’s weird how time goes by so slow but so fast when you’re sick. Each morning, I wake up and wonder how the day is going to go. When I feel really sick, the hours feel so slow. But somehow the weeks and months have flown by.

This isn’t how I pictured my 2026. Just like a large part of the population, I told myself I was going to crush my goals! I was going to hit the gym every day, read books, get up earlier… etc. That didn’t exactly happen.

I haven’t totally abandoned my goals, they just look different. I feel like part of me was ignoring reality. I was pretending this disease didn’t affect me as much as it does. But, it’s a part of my life and it always will be. I might need more sleep some days, and I might not make it to the gym every single time. And that’s okay!!

Sometimes chronic illness changes your plans

A big part of life with chronic illness is acceptance. We have to accept our circumstances in order to truly move forward and build our lives. It’s not fun or easy, but we can still strive for what we want.

Despite the fact that 2026 is not going how I thought, I have been proud of myself for many things. I’ve still been my best self at work, and I truly show up for my team. I take opportunities to further my career and personal success when possible. I seek out answers from my doctors and take every step I can to feeling better. And, I learned to REST!

Resting is good. You are not lazy, you are giving your body what it needs to fight.

Chronic illness means that I am constantly fighting a battle against my body. No one sees the sleepless nights or the tears I’ve shed in the morning. But every day, I choose to wake up and have strength! The only way to go is forward.