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Welcome.

Introductions are always tricky, so I'll start with something relatively simple, why I'm writing this blog and what I hope you'll find here.

At the time I'm writing this, in early 2016, I'm 38 years old and I think most people who passed my on the street would presume I'm fairly healthy.  Heck, I probably would in their shoes.  The truth, however, is that I've struggled with a number of health issues for as long as I can remember.  Some days, there are hints in my clouded, tired eyes, but I, like many, can hide things well when I so choose.  Nothing I suffer from is life-threatening, but my health problems have been life-altering to put it mildly.

The first time I heard the phrase "invisible illnesses," it felt like a proverbial light-bulb moment.  It was, much like the moments when I've finally gotten a diagnosis or some sort of "proof" that the symptoms I've suffered from are real, a moment of affirmation.  If there was a term, the struggle was real and, just as importantly, I was not alone.

This site seeks to shout from rooftops to the silent sufferers listening at their bedroom windows, looking at the stars, feeling lost and lonely, even doubting their sanity. This site exists to tell people that they are not alone.  There are many of us, folks who look perfectly healthy on the outside but are suffering on the inside.  While some of our troupe are indeed facing challenges that may ultimately be life-threatening, many are not.  As many of us know all too well, an illness need not threaten your life to take away the life you've known.

My plan, my starting plan at least, here is two-fold.  First, I want to build up a few basic pages telling my story in broad strokes.  Second, I want to build a blog that will go into more detail.  The blog entries will, I hope, be categorized in a way that makes them useful and accessible so that, for example, someone looking for thoughts on illness and relationships or about the never-ending pain medication dilemma, will be able to find them.  This won't be a diary or at least not in a primary sense.  Many of the entries will be focused on events in the past; after all, the mere fact that I am a chronic pain patient reveals that there is quite a bit of past to tell.  Still, I am under no impression that my journey is over (although, I'll admit, I hope I am finding my way back to a more normal sense of normal) and I certainly expect the present to sneak in and to use this site to talk about my on-going journey.

I'd also love, in time, to have you, dear reader, share your story.  I need to give thought to how to best develop and use guest posts, but I definitely don't want this to be just about me.  To the extent it is about me, which certainly will be true often enough, I hope that in sharing my own journey I can make your journey a bit easier.  I can't take away the pain and I won't offer any miracle cures, but I can tell you one of the most important truths I've learned -- YOU ARE NOT ALONE.