What do you do?

It is true that everyone has bumps in that road called life. "How we handle them is what matters" is the mantra commonly spoken. Have you ever asked why a person just stops calling, texting, or backs out of scheduled engagements? Do you assume and make comments that they are always flakey? Do you know why that youthful looking person needs that handicap parking space though they walked into the store unassisted? A better question is, do you have the right to ask or judge?

I have a connective tissue disorder called Ehler's Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and number of other medical issues that provide daily challenges to living nobody can understand unless they are me. At least one of my children inherited this genetic condition from me and has another disorder called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) that has made her life challenging in a very similar way to mine, yet more so. None of these things can be seen unless we have to wear a brace or use some other type of assistive device. Others tend to reduce what we have to typical injuries or basic aches and pains. This is far from the case. The truth is that pain scale in the doctors office is not correct for patients such as us. The 10 rating on that scale is more like an 8 for us....maybe. Our tolerance to pain, tolerance to medications to regulate said pain, reactions/negative interactions to medications in general can be very tricky. The majority of doctors are not properly trained to understand or care for patients with our particular issues. 

So, why do I bring this up? Not a sympathy vote. I have been living this life all my life. Fighter from day one. But I will mention EDSin my posts from time to time as it is a part of my life. I want to bring awareness to a genetic disorder that affects more of the population than doctors know because they now understand it is misunderstood and misdiagnosed by medical staff. The medical world is slowly acknowledging it has a lot of catch up to do. 

I challenge each of you to look at how you react to those around you when they "can't" or you see an individual doing something you consider unacceptable. Ask yourself why you are thinking that way? It truly is not ok to judge a book by its cover. It is so much easier to empathize. Then get out there and spread some love for ALL!!