HeyJaredChronic Illness Activate!
A middle-aged GenXer just trying to figure out life with a rare disease. Snarky humor is used, so enjoy!
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 6
- Latest publication
- Sep 23, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
Latest issues
Ireland was Lovely. My Body Filed a Complaint (opens the original)
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There is a particular kind of optimism involved in planning an international vacation when you live with chronic illness. You sit at your computer months in advance, looking at photographs of castles, cliffs, charming villages, and ancient ruins, and think, “Absolutely. I can do all of that.” Your body, which has apparently been copied on the itinerary, says nothing. It simply waits.This September, we traveled to Ireland, and it was everything I hoped it would be. We explored cities and villages
Sometimes the Treatment Plan Needs a Soundtrack (opens the original)
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There are a lot of things involved in managing chronic illness that nobody puts in the brochure. There are medications, specialists, lab work, insurance approvals, physical therapy, follow-up appointments, and the occasional afternoon spent trying to determine whether the insurance company has denied something because of an actual policy provision or because Mercury is apparently in retrograde. There are heating pads, ice packs, compression socks, pill organizers, and an impressive collection of
Apparently My Insurance Has Receipts (opens the original)
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Nothing says “focus on your health” quite like discovering exactly how much your health has cost this year.I made a mistake recently. It wasn’t a particularly dramatic mistake, and at the time I certainly didn’t recognize it as something capable of ruining a perfectly decent afternoon. I didn’t ignore a warning light on my car, accidentally reply-all to an email, or decide that assembling IKEA furniture without reading the instructions would be a fun test of my marriage. I simply logged into my
My Body Apparently Doesn't Believe in Sequels. It Prefers Franchises (opens the original)
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When I last left you, I had just finished writing about all of the incredible people who have helped carry me through the past several months. I was finally beginning to feel like I was making real progress. Physical therapy had become less intimidating. My neck was responding well to decompression therapy. My shoulder had started participating in everyday life again instead of hanging off my body like a decorative accessory. For the first time in months, I found myself thinking that maybe, just
Apparently You Can't Just Walk It Off (opens the original)
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There are seasons in life when you realize healing isn’t something you do alone. It turns out there really is a village behind every person trying to get back on their feet... or in my case, trying to get my neck, shoulder, and back to agree to be on speaking terms again.Over the past few months, I’ve been on what has felt like a part-time job involving physical therapy appointments, chiropractic visits, MRIs, doctor’s appointments, and enough home exercises to qualify for my own very low-budget
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