Lets face it, when you
have a chronic illness, you have to have a sense of humor about
it...you just have to. If you can't laugh about the fact that you
throw up your food or that your belly hurts twenty-four-seven, then
you're going to go absolutely bonkers. That has been one of my
biggest coping mechanisms and it has helped me to keep a smile
plastered on my face for the last 4 ½ years. I have given the ever
present pain in the right side of my belly the extremely appropriate
name of “Medulla Oblongata South” because why wouldn't you?! I
call my belly Gertrude because it's cantankerous and “Gertrude”
just sounds like a cantankerous old lady name to me (sorry to anyone
named Gertrude out there, this is not a commentary on you
personally). The fact that my migraines start in the same spot and
pretty much stay in the same spot is not lost on me—I may be a
blond, but I am not stupid, people—so I have begun referring to the
fact that I have a migraine as my “genius growing”. Maybe putting
a name and personifying what I am experiencing just makes things
easier, but it also makes me, and my family, giggle in the midst of a
not-so-pleasant illness.
Here is a humorous story
for you:
I live in the sunny,
albeit hot state of California, in the southern portion of it about
90 miles north of the border. Every now and again we are blessed (I
mean that with all of the sarcasm I can muster up within me) with
these lovely things called earthquakes. Now earthquakes just kind of
happen, like an unwanted sneeze or a sudden power outage or a
fainting spell, you get the idea. About three days ago I was dying to
lay on my stomach...DYING! My mom (a nurse) didn't think there
would be any harm in it, so I, VERY gently, turned onto my
stomach as I was watching TV. No sooner did I get settled then BAM!
BAM! R A A T T L E ! My mom jumps up and says “Earthquake!
Lets go!” and I'm looking at her, completely terrified, stuck on
the couch! I can't move! I've put myself onto my stomach, but I can't
get myself onto my feet to move to a safe place because of the
earthquake. “I'm stuck, Mom! You have to help me!” I squealed.
She helped me up and we shuffle under the nearby door jam (which now,
after umpteen years, they tell us you're not supposed to do. Oh well, old habits
die hard). When it was over, which was within seconds, I said “I'm
sorry, God, I will never lay on my stomach again! I promise!”
 |
| My reaction to being stuck on the couch during the earthquake! |
They say that “laughter
is the best medicine” and I would have to say that that is a pretty
accurate statement. There is a recipe that makes up “the best
medicine” and it's different for everyone. But I encourage everyone
to laugh and to smile and to live through their tough times because,
even though you might be feeling lousy, you can still go out there
and have a good time!
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