A few years ago when I was going through a round of Physical Torture - oh I mean Therapy - the lead Therapist said, after reviewing my very large chart, that I was like Fruit Salad. I have a lot of diagnoses so that’s where that came from. I’ve come to love that description and even embrace it.

When you have multiple chronic illnesses and other medical issues, many medical professionals don’t know what to do with you. My own Primary Doctor told me I was a very hard case to manage. I soon fired him after that comment. A hard case to manage or a person who has a lot of medical problems? A hard case to manage or a person who needs medical care? Or a wife and mother who is trying desperately to stay as healthy as I can? A hard case to manage or a person with feelings?

I’ve been poked, prodded, MRI’d, left in hallways of hospitals, sent to ER’s by ambulance, told I needed major surgery and went through it, been humiliated, angered, made to feel like a body part or a body, woken up in the middle of a procedure, yelled at by nurses, doctors, lab techs, made to wait for hours when I could barely breath or swallow or was in such pain I thought dying would be a better alternative and felt like I was being a bother to a nurse when I was given the wrong medication in the hospital.

Anyone who’s had to deal with doctors, nurses, hospitals, labs, etc. can tell you about their horror stories. Mine are no different and there are much worse. So being called a fruit salad is actually a good thing, a really special thing.

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