You are strong, brave, and fearless

I wrote this back in April 2010 on my facebook page. I still wanted to repost it onto my blog as well because anyone who has Gastroparesis is strong, brave, and fearless. They are fighters and truly heroes because of what we battle against every single day and still try and find the bright side of things.

Gastroparesis: a condition that affects the ability of the stomach to empty its contents, but there is no blockage.
Gastroparesis: also known as delayed gastric emptying
Gastroparesis:a disorder in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents
Gastroparesis: a weak stomach, where the stomach contracts less frequently

Gastroparesis: a disease that is REAL. its draining not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. it makes people feel like they are completely alone while enduring this disease. it can cause you to lose friends, have people think your faking, lying etc. this disease makes people frustrated who go through it and at times feel hopeless.

But there is hope.



I've really been wanting to write this all down for awhile now so here it goes:

Everyone who has Gastroparesis is my hero, and I'm not just saying that to be saying that you all are truly my heroes.

This disease gets pushed aside so much. We all deal with this everyday and its a struggle, but we have to keep pressing on.

I believe that everyone who has Gastroparesis is strong, brave and fearless. Not many people could go through what we have to endure every single day.

Even when we are not feeling good at all, we are strong. We need to try and stay positive, i know that is so much easier said than done, but our attitude makes a big difference. We have to keep pushing forward and try not to let it get us down.

We are all brave, some of the bravest people I know. We have to deal with nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, bloating, headaches, weight loss or gain, doctors visits, hospitalizations, trying new medicines, diet options, dehydration and so on. We go through alot really, but we somehow manage to handle it.

Everyone with Gastroparesis is fearless. Fearless is not the absence of fear, but instead having fears and overcoming them. Of course, we are scared, of course we are going to feel alone, have breakdowns sometimes, and cry and feel hopeless. But you all are truly fearless, we manage to get past that and then hold our heads up high and keep going. Even when we have bad days we have to remember to keep the faith that there is hope.

I am thankful for everyone that I have met on here that has Gastroparesis. You all have got me through so much-- just by talking, instant messaging, hearing encouragement from all of you, and getting support. It gets me through my days. Don't get me wrong, I really dislike with a passion being sick-- but in a weird sense I feel thankful for it at the same time. Because of this disease, I have come into contact with so many people all over the world that I would have never met if it weren't for this disease. Gastroparesis has made me feel more compassion towards others as well. I'm not sure why we all have to go through this, i do not understand why, but I know that there is a huge plan for all of us. There is a purpose for this and we will get through it because we all have our " GP Family" to help us through the good and bad times.

I admire each one of you so much and am thinking about all of you and praying for you too.

Hope everyone is having a good tummy day!

Gastroparesis

Nobody likes being sick with the flu... can you imagine having flu-like symptoms every single day of the year? Now imagine three years.. thats what I've been going through.

I have a chronic illness called Gastroparesis. Gastroparesis, also known as delayed gastric emptying, is basically where the stomach does not empty properly. It takes much longer than a healthy stomach would to digest the food. Imagine always being nauseous, or constantly having to make trips to the bathroom because you cannot control your vomiting. You don't have as much energy as everyone else either because your body does not get the right nutrients that it so desperately needs. You watch people all of the time just eat whatever they want to without worrying about will it make them sick or not. Its definitely a challenging disease, but You can keep on fighting and overcome it.

Gastroparesis has no cure as of right now. It is something that I will have to live with every day of my life, but I'll make the most of every situation that is thrown at me. If you have Gastroparesis too, I encourage you to never give up. You are not alone in this disease. We have to keep on fighting and not let this disease control us or define who we are. Yes it will knock us off our feet sometimes, we will stumble but we will get back up again and keep on trying to live our lives the best that we know how. There may be days where we are just in a bad flare up and can't keep anything down, but we will be thankful for all of the good things that are still in our lives.

See, you can look at having Gastroparesis in two ways: as a curse, or as a blessing in disguise. Sure its super easy to let it get you down and everything, I mean we go through alot. But if we decide to try and find something good in every day we can take this disease as a blessing. For instance, this disease has taught me to be more appreciative. I'm thankful for when I do keep down food. I'm thankful for people that have stood by me through everything and have prayed for me.I'm thankful for God, because I know that He won't give me anything that I can't handle. Somehow, He has turned my illness into my testimony that I can now share with others. I'm thankful for any opportunity to share with someone about gastroparesis to spread awareness. I'm thankful for all of the amazing people that this disease has put me in contact with. I love getting to talk to people from all over the world that have Gastroparesis; it is the best feeling to know that you can help someone else going through the same thing and they can help you as well. Your outlook on this disease is everything. Find something to smile about each day, even if its something little.

If you ever need someone to talk to you can talk to me. I know its a challenge balancing health issues with every day life, but we will get through it.

Thanks for reading!