When you’re first diagnosed with an illness, your life no longer makes sense. Everything that mattered is turned upside down. Suddenly, owning stuff, status, and your ego are no longer import.

Health insurance, copays, deductibles, doctors’ bed-side manners, hospitals, prescriptions, and quality of life take on a whole new meaning. You’re thrown into a world that you knew existed: you just never paid much attention before. After all, it’s always the other person that gets sick. Not you.

Three years ago my life changed forever. I was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological condition. It’s ironic really, I’ve always prided myself on my intelligence. Now I have an autoimmune illness that attacks my central nervous system.

As scary as it is, this illness is changing me in ways I never imagined. It’s forcing me to reevaluate my choices and pay closer attention to the nuisances of life.

I’m a young woman trying to figure out what I want from this life.  All the while trying to balance my illness, my job, relationships, and day-to-day living. It’s not easy, but I do my best.