Many of you will no doubt recognize Jeanne from her old "Jeanne's Endo Blog" which has now moved to Wordpress and become appropriately titled "Chronic Healing". The old title somehow did not seem to fit all of the many subjects which Jeanne speaks to within her blog. Jeanne has spent many hours transferring the information from her old blog to her new, and welcomes all readers to check out her blog entries. I certainly look forward to reading more from Jeanne.
So what prompted me to write this today of all days? Well as many of you know, I haven't been feeling the best the past several months. In the course of our hours long talks together, Jeanne had asked me for my address so that she could snail mail me, which I gladly gave to her. Today, I received the sweetest note from my dear friend Jeanne thanking me for being such a wonderful friend. I can't believe that someone took the time to write me such a lovely and warm letter to say that they appreciate my friendship. It brought tears to my eyes considering the effect that chronic illness can have on friendships. I truly am lucky to have found such a great friend in Jeanne for whom I have the uptmost respect and admiration. Even though we may have never met in person, her friendship is just as deep as if we had cemented it in real life.
Thanks for being a great friend Jeanne!
".
5 comments:
Jeanne really is a sweetheart. When she said she was going to write a letter for my college scholarship thing I had no idea the kind of letter I would recieve in my e-mail. I was in tears reading it. She never ceases to amaze me. She, like all of us women with chronic illnesses, is a testimony that while all we go through may break our bodies down - it can't break our spirits.
I too think Jeanne is awesome, she has helped me a lot and I also wrote a sort of dedicated post to her on my blog. She is amazing. All of us suffering with one chronic illness or another, need the support and understanding that we can only find with those that live it day in and day out. I wanted to thank you also for your comment to my blog-You are absolutely right, coming to terms with something that brings on grief is necessary. Painful yes, but necessary. Very well written and I enjoyed reading it very much. I have just started following your blog as well and look forward to learning from you.
Thanks and take care,
Jeannette
So glad Jeanne mentioned this sweet post! Friendships are indeed a more precious commodity when we can't even always be there for ourselves much less anyone else; it takes wonderfully patient, compassionate people to see beyond the illness & yet take it into consideration.
@endochick – Spot on: Our bodies may break down but not our spirits.. especially w/supportive friends. ^_^
Finally, not only is 'real' friendship possible online but, for those of us w/physical limitations, thank God!!
(|_|*cheers*|_|)
"A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be." ~ Douglas Pagels
Melissa (and her readers), Wow! 1st let me start by saying that when I read Melissa’s post it made me cry. Melissa's very right when she uses the term “amazing friendship”. She is right about that! This isn't your run-of-the-mill friendship but not simply because it has developed over the Internet. Certainly she and I have been brought together by common illnesses. May have been fate that brought us together. (Happy that Faren introduced us). What a stroke of genius that was! :) Melissa’s kind words in this post made me cry.(Happy tears). She has that effect on me. I'm very honored to have gotten to know Melissa. She is a very special woman: strong, caring, thoughtful, smart-as-a-whip, FUNNY, creative, sweet, & resourceful. If you have read her blog from the start, you have some notion of some of the extreme adversity she has experienced. What she has overcome personally is incredible. To add to that running an online endo support group with almost 1,000 members and writing her blog in addition to her very busy offline life is amazing.
Melissa is PASSIONATE about endometriosis awareness and making sure information that is disseminated about endo is ACCURATE! She helps others a great deal and inspires others too. Melissa’s depth of knowledge about a variety of health topics is mind-boggling. This is especially true of endometriosis. Melissa is no stranger to pain. To name just a few health problems she’s confronting now: endometriosis, fibromyalgia, endometrial cancer, Crohn’s Disease, partial bowel obstruction, severe migraines, & a high-risk pregnancy currently going on (having had 9 miscarriages in the past). Melissa often copes her way through unrelenting pain with humor, distraction, and connecting with friends. She also writes to cope. She is a role model for managing adversity and being able to laugh at situations that would cause many to shudder. She makes me laugh every day. As I often tell her, she’s a regular comedienne! :)
(out of room, see part 2)
Pt 2: Leave it to Melissa to write this touching post of kindness as she was heading into the prep period for her surgery/colonoscopy. Having this done during pregnancy is obviously nerve-wracking. However, Melissa has two top-notch docs working as a team out of an elite hospital for performing such an unusual obstruction removal on a pregnant patient. She is just amazing at how she deals with all of this! Today while she and I were instant messaging, a big black bear ran through her backyard and up a tree. (I'm not making this up). People had to use tranquilizer guns to deal with the bear. Such dramatic events are so “common” in Melissa’s life that this got a somewhat passing mention. Melissa isn’t too fazed when unusual events like this unfold because, frankly, she’s used to dramatic events happening quite a bit. Having had my share of dramatic events over the years, I have the ultimate respect for Melissa in how well she handles adversity, challenges, and sorrow!! I would like to thank Melissa for mentioning that my blog moved from “Jeanne’s Endo Blog” to “Chronic Healing”. I really appreciate any and all help in getting the word out about my blog’s move. While the move was months-in-the-making, I have to give Cassie Germsheid credit for transferring the blog posts. Certainly though, I spent many hours on the move. Yes, I’d love for people to check out my new blog. The card. I have wanted to snail mail Melissa a card for awhile now. I finally remembered to ask her one day for her address. Melissa and I have been in communication via Skype *A LOT*. She has been going through a VERY rough time health-wise. As Melissa said, she and I have spent countless hours talking and instant messaging. Frankly, it’s hard to remember life pre-Melissa! :) I’m so happy if my card to Melissa could give her even a nanosecond of happiness or a smile. Melissa really is a wonderful, fantastic, amazing friend!! I don’t think Melissa can fully comprehend just how much I appreciate her friendship. Truly. She is a very special woman who helps many, many people. Melissa’s generosity with time, spirit, energy, and caring are beyond words. She brings tears to my eyes quite frequently.
Yes, chronic illness can have a massive impact on friendships. Case in point. If Melissa and I were illness-free, I never would have met her. She’s in another country, for goodness’ sakes. However, we are ill and we did meet... and THAT is a huge BLESSING! I'm very fortunate to have Melissa as a friend. She is a very special, talented, caring woman who makes the world a better place! The respect and admiration are very, very mutual! I agree! Thank YOU for being a great friend, Melissa! (*Ran out of space, had to cut out spaces. Sorry it's crowded*). Jeanne
Post a Comment