Relationships Navigating the Storms

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What It’s Like to Be an Invisibly Disabled Mother

IT’S HERE TODAY! FJ (Joe, my husband) and I announce Part 1 as a guest on “I Am Not My Pain,” the podcast by Melissa Adams. It debuted at 4am, Central Time, today, June 6, 2023. I speak from my viewpoint as an invisibly disabled mother, and FJ shares his experiences as husband and dad. […]

How to Relate to Extended Family about Chronic Illness

Family relationships with the chronically ill can pose challenges, both for the ill person and their family. Today, we will examine problems along with ideas for solutions. Immediate family includes spouses and children, but not everyone has one of these. However, nearly all people have an extended family. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. A doctor […]

I’m The Biggest Helper With Momma’s Autoimmune Disease

In today’s guest post I interview Heather Yaskiw Foisy about her excellent children’s book. Today I want to take a moment to introduce Heather Yaskiw Foisy who is a chronic illness patient, advocate, and author. Heather and I recently connected via an online chronic illness bloggers group. Like me, Heather aims to help bring knowledge […]

FJ and Carole Griffitts’ Love Story – 55 Years and Counting

FJ and Carole Griffitts’ love story. Okay. This sounds different than one of my usual posts. You’re right. It is. Valentine’s Day is coming, so I thought I would write about love — one that continues in spite of great difficulties. We celebrate 56 years on July 15. My disabling difficulties began 12 years into […]

But I Want to Be Friends with You!

Last week’s post dealt with Observers making friends with Dwellers. Today, our fun item is a poll about friendship with Observers from a Dweller’s viewpoint. Obviously, not all these answers are meant to be serious. Remember, friendship may be through emails, social media, phone calls, or in-person. Enjoy the fun! And think about friendship while […]

Do You Want to Be Friends with Me?

Your invisibly disabled friends may be asking this question of you. But what does making friends with invisibly disabled people entail? First, it is remarkably like making friends with others. Second, it does have extra challenges. Before we proceed, let’s review two basic terms used on this website. Dwellers are people who live in storms […]

A Celebration of The Life of Evelyn Reader

Evelyn Reader, my sister-in-law, spent the last 13+ years invisibly disabled and in chronic pain. Prior to that, she was a wife and mother, spending time with friends and being active in church. She loved to make music, playing the piano and other instruments. Evelyn sewed for her girls and loved to make crafts. She […]

Lynn Loskot Reader now dancing with Jesus

These past couple weeks have been tough. My sister-in-law, Lynn Loskot Reader, had a hard battle with Covid when it caused double pneumonia. She lost. Now she dances with Jesus. I am paying tribute to her today. She was part of our invisibly disabled community, yet she still impacted many lives. Lynn Loskot Reader April […]

How Chronic Pain Has Affected My Marriage

Today’s guest Katie Clark writes about the marriage relationship as it is affected by invisible disabilities. She shares some experiences with her husband, Kelley, and how the illnesses impact their marriage. Check her out at painfully living.com and noticed her play on words. PAINfully living versus painFULLY living. How Chronic Pain Has Affected My Marriage […]

Ways to Talk with Invisibly Disabled Family, Friends, and Strangers

Talking with invisibly disabled people is like conversing with anyone else. Mostly. Observer of storms – you without chronic illness – imagine you have a friend or family member with unusual, downright strange, symptoms, but they look just fine. What about strangers? The one with a disabled parking permit who exits their car and walks […]

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