Re: Open Letter to Normals

[Guest guest]

Debi wrote: " Here is a link to an " Open Letter to Normals " that helps to

explain to those

> without fibro what it is like for us. I hope that this can be of use to

you. "

Thanks, Debi. Even though I don't have fibro, I found the letter to ring true

for me. My

family is constantly asking me to do things for them because I'm " just " sitting

at home all

day with nothing to do. Every fall, my brother and sister-in-law ask if I can

regularly

watch their kids or take them to after-school activities and when I try to

explain that I

can't predict how I'm going to feel and whether or not I'm going to have a

migraine on top

of everything else, they assume I just don't want to help them.

My ex-husband, with whom I am still good friends, recently told me all about a

coworker

of his that has chronic pain, but who decided one day to ignore it so that he

could live his

life more fully. He was trying to tell me that if I put my mind to it, I could

do the same.

I'm sure everyone here wishes they could simply ignore their pain, but I'm

betting that his

coworker is not in the same kind of pain that most people here are in.

Luckily, my son, who is a college student, understands what I'm going through

and is a

tremendous help when he's home on break. I'm very lucky to have someone like

him in

my life.

Kate