Day 3, 4 and 5 of IC Awareness Month!

Day 3's assignment for IC Awareness Month was to pick a theme song for your IC... Which is funny because a few months ago I wrote this little ditty to the tune of the chorus of Last Kiss by Pearl Jam...

"Oh flare oh flare would ya leeeave me be? Lord please take this away from me. My Pain's eleven and I know it's not good... when I just want to saaaay bad words!"

Haha I crack myself up!

Day 4's assignment was to write what IC has taught you about yourself... We have to submit our answers by midnight of the day and I posted it at 12:03 this morning so it's short and sweet but so true about myself!

I’ve heard a few times how lucky I am that I was diagnosed with IC so young because I don’t know what life is like without IC so I don’t miss it as much… Interesting theory…

The truth of the matter is I have no idea who I would be today without IC… it has molded me into the person I am… in good ways and bad! The bad seem obvious and hardly worth mentioning but the many positive attributes I have gained by serving my sentence of life with IC have been surprisingly beneficial.

I would say the biggest gift IC has given me is my ability to laugh and smile through whatever life throws at me. It’s funny because I feel like people underestimate my pain because I’m a cheerful girl usually with a smile and joke nearby but they actually have it backwards! It’s because I am so sick that I can smile and laugh every day.

Some days I have to laugh so I don’t cry… some days I laugh in the midst of level 10 pain… some days I make jokes to convince my family that I really am doing okay… some days I just don’t know what else to do.

No matter the reason, the ability to smile through the pain has benefited me in my everyday life more than I can even say. Keeping my heavy life lighthearted and fun isn't always easy but it reminds me that I am so blessed. I have a loving family who understands my craziness and self proclaimed hilarity but many people just don’t understand.

What would they have me do? Constantly moan and cry out protests from the pain? I’ve tried that… it doesn't work!  

So I laugh and I joke. I joke about my interstims being trackers, fax machines, iPods, and garage openers. I joke about wetting my pants: “if peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis”. I joke about being on Medicare at 26.

I guess my favorite part about this unique gift is the peace it gives my loved ones. It is a lot of pressure to know what to say and how to act around someone who is chronically ill but when I smile and laugh, I give them permission to do the same which breaks down walls around them.

IC is a part of me and in some ways I’m thankful for it. The gifts it has given me almost… ALMOST… outweigh the pain and agony of the disease.

Then today was Day 5 and the assignment was to make a list of things that your thankful for and then hang it in the bathroom (where a lot of our pain happens) to remind us that we are blessed. So I did this...

Yes that's written on toilet paper... I thought it would be fitting! :o)

I'm enjoying all these challenges that make us think outside of ourselves and our IC while spreading the word about IC! 

One more thing I want to share... my husband works for a big company in downtown Seattle and they put a bit article in their monthly newsletter about IC Awareness Month, complete with an awesome description of IC and the official slogan with  picture! So cool!