The Upside of Adversity: 6 Lessons from Thriving with Chronic Illness

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Happy Free Man

“If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.” ~Unknown

I vividly remember the day that I realized something was seriously wrong inside my body.

It was a Friday night. I was out with some friends after work when I suddenly started slurring my speech.

I’d been drinking soda water all evening.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I remember trying to stem the rising feeling of panic, to convince myself that everything was okay.

As I stared at my reflection in the mirror, noticing a slight droop to my eyelids, I remember thinking, “I’m having a stroke.” It was an idea I quickly dismissed, stupidly believing such a thing wasn’t possible for someone so young.

It all went downhill from there.

To make a long story short, within three days I went from being a carefree twenty-four-year-old to a critically ill twenty-four-year-old.

Diagnosed with a life-threatening case of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an autoimmune system disorder that attacks the peripheral nervous system, I was hooked up to machines in the hospital’s critical care unit, my body completely paralyzed and systematically shutting down.

That was ten years ago.

My life has been irrevocably chan…

What do you think?

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