Unhappy Happenings

I just got some bad news from a friend of mine. I haven't actually met the guy, but he's one of the most important people in my life. I think of him as my Wegener's buddy. He contacted me on Myspace a few years ago. His story with the disease is not entirely dissimilar to mine, though he's had a little more trouble with it than I have. The important thing is that we both kind of have the same attitude about it. It was an absolute godsend for me to find someone around my same age who knew what I was (am) going through.

One of the worst things about getting diagnosed (for both of us, really) was the mental aspect of the whole thing. Neither of us was particularly comfortable asking for help from our friends and family, but it's hard impossible to deal with the thing alone. It's not that we didn't feel like our friends and family would want to help, it's just.... Well, my family was going through the suckiness right along with me so it was hard to burden them with my own issues. And my friends couldn't (most of them... all of them?... still can't) really truly understand what I was going through.

It was awesome to find someone who really Got IT. I don't actually even talk to him all that often, but it's nice to know that someone is out there who understands exactly what it's all like. I am so grateful that he's out there.

I e-mailed him earlier this month with my good news. He wrote back congratulating me and then he told me that he has relapsed.

That absolutely breaks my heart. He'd been in remission for about for, I think, 6 or 7 years. Now he's back on all the awful meds and....

I'm not sure where I wanted to go with this. I'm just really bummed to hear that he's not doing well. If you do the prayer thing, say one for him. Otherwise, cross your fingers, wish on a star, do whatever you do to send him luck. And take a moment to appreciate how incredibly lucky you are to have good health.