Strength and Health

It always takes me by surprise to realize that the people around me think I have health problems. In my mind, I am a strong, healthy person - and if a stranger were to ask me to describe myself, that is exactly what I would say. But in the twenty years of my adult life, I have had mononucleosis, severe eczema, two miscarriages, near-death from hemorrhage after childbirth, pneumonia twice, bronchitis, a serious corneal ulcer, strep throat, and three episodes of deep, prolonged, undiagnosed illness. And on top of all that, putting everything else in the shade - cancer. I never think of these experiences all together, and in most cases, I hardly think of them at all. They happened to me, and some of them have formed my physical and emotional scar tissue, but I don't think of them as who I am, fundamentally. In early March this year I got sick, and I kept getting sick over and over again through the next two months. I had what felt like every symptom in the book: high fevers, chil...