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#1 Unable to find suitable employment after moving back to Massachusetts, I worked as a salesclerk in a fabric store. It was in November of 1991, only a few months into my employment there, that my long journey with illness began.
The date is unforgettable, since my life as I knew it then began to change in a rather mysterious and disheartening way. In those early days that marked the onset of my struggle with poor health, I began to experience some significant physical changes. They included increasing difficulty and pain climbing stairs, turning my head while driving, writing or even being held or hugged. I would drop and break things regularly from the pain and stiffness in my upper body, and I developed many gastrointestinal problems. These changes were also accompanied by an unusually high level of fatigue. In addition, I became increasingly sensitive to chemical odors, bright lights and loud sounds in my environment. My sleep became more erratic and unrestful as well. Feeling “sick all over” was the most accurate way I could describe to others how I felt.
As the years passed, my symptoms increased, seeming wrathful in their intensity and persistence. For several years I tried both alternative and conventional modalities of treatment, seeking some relief. However, no relief was to be found. A multitude of trips to various specialists included my undergoing a host of recommended treatments and therapies. Some of these included allergy testing, physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, herbs, homeopathy, juice fasting, detox diets, hydrotherapy and innumerable supplements.
My experience with these treatments was more often than not disappointing. So also was my intolerance to most of the drugs that were prescribed to me. As a result, my faith and confidence in the medical system lessened considerably. That caused me to believe early on in my search for wellness that I myself would be responsible for finding my path back to being physically restored. This was my spiritually self-sufficient attitude before my heart became more surrendered to God who would guide me on that path.
It would, however, be some time before I would see how He would do that and how He would sustain me through many more years of pain, despair and disappointment. He would also redirect me away from an evil influence which sought my destruction, my allegiance and my very soul, as my health worsened.
#2 The fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome constantly try me with unremitting pain, exhaustion and debility that I fight against all day long. I can best liken my experience with them to feeling as if I’ve just been thrown off a horse or hit by a car, all while having a bad flu. These conditions also leave me feeling as if I have rusty acid coursing through my muscles and joints, leaving them rigid and contracted as well.
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