Writing Samples: "Chronic Illnesses"

Perhaps this is why I have become so attuned to silent echoes, sounds of the past which will not be repeated nor resembled.

The world of a chronically ill person shrinks and shrinks and shrinks. Even though I have become quite busy offering volunteer time at a senior day canter, where I find great satisfaction assisting others who require assistance, that is in their world. My world still dissolves slowly. The future is by far more narrower. The past is much larger, louder and fuller of life. The present happens and I just react.

My own personal echoes include hearing myself give a sales presentation, cussing at a bolt that won’t come loose on a project I am doing myself around the house, (instead of hiring someone to do the most mundane of tasks), and asking my wife for a dance at a wedding reception. They include my footsteps, as I propelled myself across a room, rather than crawling on my hands and knees. I, also, recall a louder stronger voice, one which did not require people to ask me to repeat myself almost all of the time. There was laughter, which is now less frequent due to depression and anxiety caused by my condition.

Yet, through this experience, my chronic illness has honed my humor, keened my creativity, haltered my hastiness, made patience prudent and made me value more my many blessings. Time offers you that. All through this booklet, I have stressed making time, taking time, awaking time to listen to silent echoes. You might not be retired as I am, with day after day full of opportunities to reflect upon silent things, but I believe your day will be all the better if you do. Surely, the future must have goals and action plans which will aquire those goals. But to one with a chronic illness, it is far more difficult to set goals and hope to achieve them.

For the person or people you know who has/have such a disease or chronic illness, offer them yet another day of patience, a little more understanding, a caring smile and hopefully a precious hug. As we grow more into our affliction, we receive less body warmth from other individuals just by the nature of the situation. A silent hug from you right now would mean so much to me and evoke echoes of happier times and healthier memories.

Please?

The End