Stop and think.

We need to talk. 

A few days ago someone told me that Lyme is "nothing." 

Nothing. 

(Insert slow eye blink here.)

Yeah, it's nothing. The fact that I've been sick for almost 11 years--debilitatingly sick for the last 5 or 6--is nothing. The big, puffy, misshapen scars on my chest that are a result of devices being placed in my chest to administer medication directly into my heart are nothing. The constant fear that I live in due to the uncertainty of my body's next move is nothing. The heart palpitations that make my whole body shake as I lay in bed at night are nothing. The frustration that comes along with not remembering words, or names, or places because my brain has been taken over is nothing. The searing, almost constant, pain in my fingers is nothing. The 24/7 exhaustion that never goes away, no matter how much I sleep, is nothing. The emotions that I have no control over--the sadness, the anxiety--are nothing. The fact that I've lost one organ to it and I constantly am fearful for the others is nothing. The anxiety that comes along with every new pain in my body--the fear that it's the newest pain that's here to stay--is nothing. The friends I've lost because of it are nothing. And the fear of losing more people in my life to it is nothing. The effects of the medications are nothing. The feeling of my insides simultaneously being on fire and having millions of tiny bugs running around in them is nothing. The fact that the air, my clothes, and anything else touching my skin can make me want to scream is nothing. The agony--because that's the only way to describe it--is nothing. It's nothing. 

I wanted to be angry. I wanted to say something not very nice back to that person. I wanted to tell them how I was really feeling when I read what they wrote. But I couldn't. I didn't. 

Instead I responded with something along the lines of: "I mean, I've been sick for almost half of my life. I can't work a "normal" job because of it. I live with my parents. And my life is nowhere near where I expected it to be at this point. So I wouldn't say it's nothing." The response I got--an explanation of all the things they've gone through that are worse than Lyme--was equally as frustrating and the conversation ended there. 

So, why am I telling you this? Well, I didn't just write this to tell you how much my life sucks. Because it doesn't suck. I'm happy, I'm beyond blessed and I'm so grateful. 

I wrote this to ask you to stop and think for a second. 

Stop and think before you tell someone that what they are going through is nothing. Stop and think before you minimize a struggle that you know nothing about (because if you did know anything about it, you sure as hell wouldn't be minimizing it.) Stop and think before you place judgement upon someone's story--someone's life. Just stop and think. You never know what someone else is going through. You never know how your words might affect them or the impact they might have in that exact moment. You just don't know. 

You would never want someone to tell you that your life, your truth, your something, is nothing. 

So please, just stop and think.