Skip to main content

Hank Green :: Living with a Chronic Disease

I’ve recently been made aware of the vlogging duo that is Hank and John Green. (You may know John Green from his book The Fault in Our Stars, which I hope to read very soon.) They talk about a variety of subjects, and seem to really understand teenagers. Plus, they’re hilarious. Overall, they’re pretty awesome.

But what I didn’t know was that Hank actually has a chronic disease—ulcerative colitis. I was browsing the Green brothers’ channel one day and was honestly really surprised to see this video. I was instantly intrigued. I watched the whole thing, and I so appreciate how real and transparent he was. Every point he made resonated with me and made me wish the whole world could hear this video. I’d have to say that it’s one of the most accurate summaries of the aspects of living with a chronic illness that I’ve ever seen.

So whether you’re struggling to understand what it’s like for someone you know who has a chronic illness, or you have one yourself and just would like a little validation, I’d highly recommend watching this video. Even if you don’t struggle with ulcerative colitis specifically, I’d still recommend watching it since I think he makes points that all of us can relate to. It’s something that I think everyone very much needs to hear.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

In Which I Spill the Beans :: My Life Story

Pain. It’s a warning. A flash of red against your eyelids, a stabbing sensation in your thigh. It’s what you feel when you stub your toe or when you hit your head on the doorway because you’re a 6’7” basketball player. Pain is what your body does when there’s something wrong. And it’s what I experience every day. But first, let me back up sixteen years. I was born. (Duh.) But the circumstances leading up to it are… intense, to say the least. If you were watching a movie of my life, I think you’d most likely be on the edge of your seat. At least, I’ve been on the edge of my seat for my life. My parents almost lost me twice; the first when my mom started bleeding during the pregnancy, and the second time happened when I was (trying) to come out and be born into the world. Oh, and there was actually a third time, which happened when I had to have heart surgery at only two days old. But I made it through. Fast forward to the present day. Remember my lovely metaphors for pain at the beginni...

My Thorn :: A Guest Post by Ashley

I don’t talk about it much online, and I really don’t have a true reason, other than, I honestly don’t think about it much anymore. But, a dear friend (Oh how much more she has gone through) sparked the inspiration to talk about my thorn. I have Knee Bursitis. Bursitis is a condition where the padding in your joints (called Bursea) becomes inflamed. It’s pretty painful at times. Thankfully, it isn’t an all the time ache (Thank the Lord) but when it does, it can get pretty crippling.   I’m not going to go into much detail over it, except, that when you can’t run, or be terribly active because otherwise, your knees feel like they are about to crumble, and make you fall, you feel....awkward.  It’s no fun having to sit out at your brother’s 5K races, and tell everyone “I don’t like running” when, there is nothing you;d like more then being able to try at least once.  When all your friends try goading you into running on Thursday nights with them, and you can’t, because you k...

Instagram Is Not my Real Life: The Trouble with Chronic Illness & Social Media

Instagram is not my real life. I know, I know. You're all shocked to hear this. You mean my life isn't contained in those pixelated images on my Instagram feed? No, it is not. (Though I will admit I spend a ton of time living vicariously on the internet due in part to my chronic illness, but I digress.) When I first heard about Instagram, it seemed tailor-made for me. I've always loved taking pictures (my embarrassing photography blog from 2011 will back me up on this). To have an app where I could easily share photos with my friends--an app made only  to share photos, no less--was a big deal. So as soon as I got a mobile device in 2014, one of the first things I did was get an Instagram account . This is one of the first Instagram photos I ever took. Yes, it looks like I was on an epic quest, but I was actually on the way home from my OBGYN. My Instagram photos are often of the people and places in my life. And I  really  like them! I love sharing them with everyone! I l...