Tag: chronic illness

  • What You Cannot See

    What You Cannot See

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    There is a strange loneliness in looking like yourself while quietly losing the ability to live like yourself. I have spent years learning how to push through a body that doesn’t always cooperate, but lately I can feel those reserves running out. This is the part of illness you cannot see from the outside, the…

  • Three hours until takeoff

    Three hours until takeoff

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    Three hours before I was supposed to leave for the airport, I was sitting in an emergency room listening to a doctor explain why I shouldn’t get on the plane. My heart sank as I realized I had to choose between the safest decision and a dream I’d carried for years.

  • The Weight of Wonder

    The Weight of Wonder

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    Two nights before leaving for the Pacific Northwest, I find myself surrounded by wrinkled itinerary pages, hiking gear, and a dream I’ve carried for nearly half my life. What begins as a story about planning slowly becomes something much deeper: learning that simply standing in the place you’ve longed for can matter more than finishing…