Facing
Forward is a series that shares the lives of people living with arthritis
and other invisible chronic illnesses. The goal of the series is to see how we
are similar and how we are different - and to remind us to keep moving forward
because we aren't alone!
Name: Kerri
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canadian
Prairies!)
Diagnoses: Asthma, ADHD + learning issues,
uterine fibroids, retinopathy of prematurity, post-septic arthritis
Age at Diagnoses: Moderate persistent asthma
(16), ADHD + learning issues (21), uterine fibroids (22), retinopathy of
prematurity (birth-ish), post-septic arthritis (>1 month)
How are you currently treating your conditions?
I
take multiple medications for asthma and medication for ADHD. I think exercise
is really important for my ADHD as well, but when my asthma flares up, it can
be hard to get that in--and hard to get back on track once things are better!
What are the biggest challenges you have faced since
your diagnosis?
It's
weird, because I am sure there are challenges I've faced, but I really don't
focus on them. For me, diagnosis took awhile in all cases, except for in the
case of the issues I've had since I was a baby and don't know life without. So
getting the diagnosis and having an answer for what was going on
was the challenge (ie. my "bronchitis" didn't go away because it was
asthma; university was hard for me because I had ADHD and a learning disability
that went undiagnosed until I was 4 years in and 21 years old; and no, 22 was
NOT too young for the uterine fibroids that tried to kill me and necessitated 5
blood transfusions!) and the getting it sorted out to the extent it could be
was the biggest challenge. Otherwise, I focus on the positives, and try to work
WITH what I've got rather than working against it--especially in the case of
ADHD.
What are your favorite tips and tricks for managing
everyday tasks?
With
ADHD, getting the stuff I want to accomplish done can be tough! I've been using
the Bullet Journaling technique for over a year now, and it's the only thing I
have used relatively consistently other than google calendar, and it fits my
brain better! It also doesn't have any guilt attached when I don't use it,
because there are only boxes to fill that I make myself!
How do you manage to keep facing forward every day?
Focus
on the "good things"--a phrase Jay Greenfeld, one of my professors in
university, signed his e-mails off with! Both he AND this phrase, mostly the
simplicity of it, really changed my perspective about a LOT of things.
If you could go back to diagnosis day and tell your
past self one thing, what would it be?
This
is a speed bump, not a roadblock. You will have experiences in life and
make friends--BEST friends-- because of your diagnoses that you would NOT have
had otherwise!
Do you have a blog you would like to share?
Would you like to be featured on Facing Forward? If
so, please send an email to mariah@fromthispointforward.com.
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