Is it something that we ever fully grasp after being diagnosed with a chronic disease, or any disease for that matter?
My experience was different, I wasn't surprised by the diagnosis and knew the words were about to flow from my doctor's mouth but I don't believe I have fully accepted it, and I don't think I will ever be able to.
I think as the years pass on and the disease continues to limit your daily life, you go through separate stages of acceptance.
I don't know what it's like to be contained to a wheel chair or dependent on another person. I don't think I've even 'accepted' that my disease can put these constraints on my life at any given moment. However, because we are fighters, when those times come we pull up our boot straps and slosh through the mud. It could take a week to years to be able to accept the true nature of our disease.
So what can we hope for while dodging the curve balls we see coming our way?
1. Hope for a cure - while this is something I can't do with the knowledge I have, I do have the ability to raise awareness and donations to support organizations in finding the cure.
2. Hope for a blessing - While it really just sucks that we have been dealt the cards we have, being a blessing and an inspiration is something to hope for. People with and without our disease watch us to see how we react to each circumstance, why not use those circumstances to be a blessing or an inspiration to others.
3. There's Hope through Christ - As a Christian, my faith is a big part of my life and my outlook on this disease. When my body does crazy things or I sound like a drunken' nutcase, I know that one-day my body will be perfect. How wonderful that will be and gives me great hope as I stumble through this life.
Even though we probably won't fully accept our diagnosis, we can have hope through each stage of acceptance.
