Chronic Determination

Once upon a time there lived a girl named Katrina...

Dreamy yet determined, she was passionate about art, drawing from the moment she could hold a pencil.

When she turned 13 years old, her life shattered. She fell sick. Really, really sick. A severe viral infection barrelled through her immune system, wrecking her body and her health. In horrific pain, every bodily system crashing around her, she was confined to her bed, barely able to rise her head.

For years, life continued in this way. Trapped in her own body, wracked with pain, Katrina despaired. She thought not only of the life that could have been, but of the adversity she faced in the present. In her darkest moments, the light faded and she was tormented by the seemingly meaninglessness, burdensome nature of her existence.

But in those instances, she would look, and see the unwavering, unconditional love of her family. She would look and find absolute beauty and meaning in her art or in knowledge. She would look, and she would see life, in all its miraculous, ephemeral wonder. She saw the power of small pleasures and opportunities others took for granted and within her rose the spirit of determination. She yearned to acquire knowledge and enriching experiences. To embrace life and realize her artistic and creative ambitions. An insatiable desire to leave her bed and be out in the world connecting with others, giving and receiving inspiration, filled her entire being.

Then something better happened.

After being turned aside by doctor after doctor, eventually Katrina was diagnosed with a range of autoimmune conditions including severe chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and leaky gut syndrome in addition to severe migraines, sciatic nerve pain complicated by a cervical rib that impairs her entire right side. Her condition finally acknowledged, recovery was now possible. With an intense medical and therapeutic regime, little by little, determined day by determined day, Katrina learned to manage her condition, pushing herself while respecting her bodily limitations, until one day she made it out of the bed.

And then she made it through VCE, even managing to attain a perfect score for Art and a Premiers Award. And then through to a scholarship to university. On to honours. And now, years after the onset of her chronic condition, Katrina has embarked on her latest challenge. A PhD in Psychology for which she has received a scholarship.

Living with a chronic condition is immensely difficult and painful. Every single thing she does has a significant physical cost. Going out for lunch with friends may result in crashing the next day, unable to even get out of bed. Constant variations and fluctuations in pain and physical ability means Katrina has to carefully choose how she'll spend her time. Which is frustrating to someone who so passionately wants to keep working on her projects for hours and hours. But still she sees only challenges, not limits.

For with a chronic illness and disability, "it's not about being strong or overcoming the circumstances that face you, or being a fighter, heroically battling your condition, but treating yourself with kindness and compassion. Life may bring all manner of unforeseen adversity. Though we may be unable to choose the situations in which we find ourselves, it is within our power to control how we respond to them and to appreciate all there is to be grateful for in any given moment.”

Galvanized by this realization, slowly, day by day, what was once impossible is now experienced.

If you have lived through an impossible condition like Katrina, please send us your story!!

#embraceimpossible