Strength in Invisible Battles
Some days, I wake up and the world feels impossibly heavy. Living with autoimmune disorders like MOGAD and POTS means that pain is my constant companion—an invisible weight that others can’t see, but I feel in every movement. There are mornings when just getting out of bed feels like climbing a mountain. The simple act of walking to the kitchen, grabbing a pencil to draw, or tending to my garden—things I once did without a second thought—now require all the strength I can muster. It’s hard for people to understand what they can’t see. Pain is invisible, and unless someone has walked in my shoes, even for a minute, it’s impossible to truly grasp how difficult it is to move, to work, to do the things I love. Sometimes, it feels like the only time people believe the severity of my struggles is when I end up in the hospital for weeks at a time. I’ve had so many surgeries—just on my left arm, there have been seven. Each one leaves its own mark, a reminder of the battles I fight every day....