It’s all a matter of perspective

I have spent quite a bit of time this week reflecting on how others perceive fibromyalgia.  Not only perceptions about the illlness, but also others ideas about those who have it.  I have experienced the entire guantlet this week.  From those that know someone with it and understand the difficulties that accompany it, to those that don’t know but care enough to start to learn and finally those that just don’t understand or want to and think that it is all an act.

I had a moment of weakness and had the wish creep in my mind that, for those that don’t understand, I wish I could do like the movies and just touch them and transfer some of that experience to them so that they would understand that it is real and constant and has it’s ups and downs.  I think, more than anything, that I wish those that don’t know would understand that this is not a game we play for sympathy or favors, but it is real.  Real pain, real fatigue, real wierd symptoms.

To those of you that understand and stand with us and support us through it all, the words THANK YOU don’t even begin to convey how we really feel.

To those that care enough to learn and start down the path of acknowledgement and support, you are new found heros in our eyes.