Invisible Illness Awareness Week

09/23/2024

Most of us have seen Disneyland increase in price so much that the average middle class family cannot afford to go. Now those with disabilities also find themselves shut out from a typical magical Disney day due to new disability policies. 😡

A series of disabled park-goers have spoken exclusively to DailyMail.com about how the 'dangerous' new policy has negatively impacted them.

09/17/2024

This time of year was "Invisible Illness Awareness Week" for over 15 years. I began it in 2002 and held some of the first "virtual conferences" online. We had up to 5 podcast/chat/seminars per day for 7 days and literally reached MILLIONS (one of my memories this week mentioned 5 million).

My husband helped w/ all the tech (and the tears I shed over tech problems that satan always had to mess with); my mom flew to San Diego to help w/ Josh. Friends came over w/ dinner & prayer. It was the biggest outreach I'd ever done - a secular event but sponsored by my ministry.

I met incredible people. Other illness advocates such as Jenni and chronicbabe; Christine of The Spoon Theory; Wayne and Sherri of Invisible Disabilities Advocate; Niki of RA Chicks. And countless others -- doctors, counselors, authors, relationship experts, pastors, and so many more -- all of whom donated their time to make a difference.

Now you will find all over TikTok. On Facebook that hashtag now has 701K mentions. Hard to believe I coined it from my bedroom office, back when the stigma of talking about it was HUGE. Our outreach for the event? It began on Friendster and MySpace. :)

It makes me so happy to see a new generation who considers something worth talking about, educating on, and advocating for, and sharing hope.

To all those who were part of this story, who were part of sharing YOUR story, who prayed for me and our team and who bought a t-shirt or stuck a bumper sticker on your car, THANK YOU. You made a difference --- one which we will continue to see for decades to come.

09/06/2018

Dramatic improvement of how stressed the staff feels, even the skeptics on staff agree. Do you use oils?

09/06/2018

Opinions? No right or wrong answer... just curious about your thoughts.

Indiana University Health is making waves with their new decision to allow nurses to show tattoos and piercings.

08/24/2018

Wow! Nice that one man tried to explain that she could have an invisible disability but I think if she was able to walk onto the bus she could have taken the offered seat one row back when the man in the wheelchair needed a ride. She didn’t seem confused, but just defiant. Thoughts?

A profanity-laced shouting match broke out between bus passengers in Los Angeles Wednesday morning after a woman refused to sacrifice her seat for a man in a wheelchair.

08/21/2018

My life. Every. Day.

08/12/2018

Sooo very well said...

Yep...big mess. I hate it. But heres the thing...if you want to help a disabled person, someone crippled by severe daily pain, dont offer advice on how to do things better. I do things the way i do for a reason. If you lived in horrible pain, youd develop strange ways as well. You dont understand, so dont make me feel worse by explaining how to do it better. Because then i have to explain to you why I cant do it your way. And this makes me feel useless and incompetant. Also, if i get up and do a task, dont tell me not to. I NEED to. I cant sit around and let someone else do everything and you are infantalising me when you tell me to go sit down. Again, you make me feel useless and incompetant. I know what i can and cant do. And i need to do what i can. I need to keep trying. And remember, this us my home. Dont rearrange my cuttlery drawer, or put things in 'better' places. Things belong where they belong because i cant lift them from down low, or reach up high and manage their weight. There are reasons for everything that you find odd, dont ask, just accept theres a reason. In short, dont think you can do it better. Of course you can, you re not disabled by pain and weak joints. Do things my way, cos thats what Im paying you for. Allow me to keep my dignity. Took me many tries to find a carer who understands this.

07/24/2018

Love this!

07/24/2018

Idea?

Decorating tip...its not laundry that needs folding and putting away, its interior design :)

07/24/2018

Never give up! So sweet...

07/23/2018

It makes ALL the difference. Found this image on Unsplash and it reminded me of something I saw once at the Oregon coast. Since I’ve not been able to walk on sand for many years I LOVE this!

07/22/2018

Yet another one... Always makes me sad. After 20 years of trying to make changes in awareness it is still an uphill battle. Please know you are not alone if you are experiencing this.

Though it’s hard to tell just by looking at her, Laura Press suffers from at least five chronic illnesses. The 31-year-old mother from Greater Manchester has urticaria, which causes her skin to swell severely during flare-ups. Also, due to endometriosis, Laura also underwent a hysterectomy to prev...