Day 9-Care Package

I have received some very sweet, fantastic care packages in the past few years. They mean so much! Here are a few things I would include if I had the resources & means to send packages to all my chronically sick friends.

1-some fun foods & candy-many of us have to eat something with medicines, & cooking something at times is really impossible, so having at hand some cashews, candy, great buttery crackers, holiday cookies, soup, or a great loaf of bakery bread is a godsend.

2-really good lotions & lip balms. Fragrance free or something healing like lavender & chamomile is something I love. A fun selection of lip balms is always appreciated, & something like a long lasting candle is a very sweet touch.

3-an amazingly soft throw/blanket. Temperatures really affect many of us, & having a great go-to blanket & heating pad is a comforting thing.

4-super soft socks & slippers. Even though it doesn't take pain away having big fat fluffy socks can help the cozy factor tremendously.

5-a super digital library of tv series, movies, & books. My life would be far worse without Netflix streaming, digital books (holding a book open is very tough), & tv. Refocusing my attention is crucial for getting through the day.

6-a body pillow. I have 4 pillows behind me & 2 under me to create a recliner type sleeping situation. Lying flat isn't an option.

7-coupons for services-like a catering service for a birthday or something, a handyman to fix things you just aren't able to do-even a home nurse visit would be an amazing thing!

8-an honest, loving letter. Saying 'I don't have any words really but I love you' is so appreciated. We know you have no magic answers-we gave up on those long ago, but an I love you/I care so much is the best thing.

A very soft hug. Many of us have NO human touch apart from our doctors. Think about that-no human touch, hugs, etc for months at a time. It is like starving really. Even a touch on the hand brings me to happy tears. Illnesses are very lonely, & a chronic lengthy one? I cannot put it into,words.

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What's your bag? Day 4

Since I'm at home all the time, my bag/purse is the space in & around my purse on my bed. I'm not specifically bed-bound, but since having anything-like the arms of chairs-touch me causes pain, the most comfortable place is in bed sitting up. That way I have a stack on pillows behind me if I do need really soft support & pillows under my knees for when I am sleeping-& they double as a make-shift tabletop, iPad holder, place setting, etc. I am addicted to lip balm, such as Burt's Bees, the Merry Hempsters, or just good old Chap Stick. A friend of mine sent me my newest obsession a year or so ago, & it now serves as my all purpose balm. It's called Smith's Rosebud Salve-it comes in an adorable tin & I use it countless times daily as hand lotion, lip balm, as a skin softening agent, the uses go on. People with fibromyalgia often have a broken pain center...for example my brain can take a fan blowing on me as a painful stimulus-or a smell like cleaning solution as an assault. This Rosebud stuff has a very slight floral fragrance but so light it doesn't set off the pain alarm in my head. Any kind of extrasensory influence can easily transform as pain, & so certain things just make life easier. At the top of my list is noise canceling earbuds/phones. When I'm in a waiting room everything hurts, so having my iPod & earphones are crucial. Even just here our backyard touches 4 other yards, so lawn mowers, weed eaters (the devil's handiwork that is!), & other lawn care things drive me nuts, so often if it gets to a certain point I put the earbuds in & tune out anything but the music to refocus. In my bag medicine goes without saying, & I keep a nasal/allergy/sinus spray since those systems work overtime fairly often. Hair clips & ponytail holders are a must, as well as tissues & a mirror. I don't wear makeup (sadly) anymore, but I tend to always need a mirror for bunny fur in my eyes. Chai bunny's mark is never far away :)

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