Cheryl is sitting cross legged on the ground with a serious facial expression, looking at an array of medication bottles and syringes which are used to manage my chronic illnesses including rheumatoid arthritis, gastroparesis, cervicalgia, whiplash and more.
Editor Update 2023: This post was originally published on Cheryl’s blog, The Enthusiastic Life, and reprinted here with her permission. Today, Cheryl runs the amazing resource Arthritis Life – if you live with any type of arthritis, we highly recommend checking out what she has to offer! You can find her on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
People often remark that those of us with invisible illnesses “don’t look sick.” However, we deal with substantial physical and emotional challenges. To shed light on the often hidden side of living with chronic illness, I completed an “Invisible Illness Photo Shoot” with dear friend and phenomenal photographer Jessica Keener Photography.
Goals of the photo shoot
1. To illustrate that you cannot tell what someone is going through just by looking at them. I hope that these photos help people remember to “be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” (Ian MacLaren).
2. To help those who have similar invisible challenges not feel alone. I have benefited from seeing other brave chronic illness warriors share their trials and triumphs, and I wish to add my contribution.
3. To visually express that life with multiple chronic illnesses contains many “good days” and “bad days.” As a positive person (my entire blog is called “The Enthusiastic Life,” after all!), I typically favor sharing photos of good days. However, I also wish to show the truth of my life, and I experience many “bad days” along with the good.
The photos are available below. Please feel free to share this post or individual photos for educational reasons, but I ask that you:
Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist (OT) who is passionate about helping others live their lives to the fullest despite chronic illness or disability. She has had rheumatoid arthritis and gastroparesis for 15 years and volunteers to perform patient education with the Arthritis Foundation. She works as a community college instructor in a OT Assistant program as well as in pediatrics. She shares personal stories, OT tips and life hacks for living with arthritis on her blog The Enthusiastic Life.