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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

One Way You Can Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend
#iiwk2011

Most healthy people don't realize how many normal, everyday things a person living with chronic illness has had to give up. Most healthy people don't understand how much loss a chronically ill person endures when they are robbed of the pleasant things in their lives due to pain, fatigue and other symptoms.

Being the healthy friend is also difficult.  In the face of illnesses that just don't get better or end, perhaps you've gotten discouraged.  Maybe the time and energy spent on your friend has diminished over time too. After all, you have your life to live too and there are many things competing for your time and attention.   

But you still want to help, right?

This is a gentle reminder about how much it means to your sick friend when you take just a few minutes out of your busy and hectic life to do something nice for them.  

So take this moment to take a deep breath.  Then commitment to renew your efforts to help.  Just wipe the slate clean and start fresh.  Forget about the past and start again, today, helping your sick friend.

This is where the video below will come in handy. 

One of the many things you can do to help your sick friend is to help them discover a new hobby or interest when their old ones aren't possible anymore.

For example, I can certainly relate to having to switch from backyard gardening to container gardening (which I write about over at The Seated Gardener.)  This new pursuit started when an occupational therapist challenged me to find a way to keep gardening despite my chronic pain. 

Another example is how my friend Cyndi turned me on to blogging by challenging me to a friendly blog-a-day competition back in May 2009.  Now blogging is one of my new passions.

This video has some great ideas and suggestions.  As a friend to someone who is chronically ill, it might get you thinking about fun new ways you can encourage your sick friend to connect and enjoy life.  What greater gift could there be than helping a friend in such a thoughtful and meaningful way.

Enjoy!






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2 comments

Migrainista said...

Love the new layout by the way. Your blog is looking fantastic!

These are some great ideas. It's so frustrating when family and friends don't know how to respond. I really is up to us to help them.

Tami Stackelhouse said...

Great encouragement! =)