Be The Absurd Rebel

Waking to another day with chronic illness is to wake each day inside a story you did not choose and still decide to step forward. The body may ache and the future may feel uncertain yet there is a quiet defiance in rising anyway. Albert Camus wrote of the absurd hero as one who refuses to surrender to despair even when the world offers no clear answers. This hero does not wait for rescue or perfect health but claims dignity in the act of living. There is courage in taking medication and making appointments and loving others while pain hums in the background. There is bravery in laughter that breaks through fatigue and in hope that returns without promise. To be an absurd hero with a chronic illness is to carry suffering without turning away from life and to shape meaning through your free will. Yes, this journey can feel absurd at times. I just stuck two needles in my abdomen last night to infusion medication for my immune disorder. There are those who struggle to swallow a pill, but I’m the one requiring needles to have medication help me stay alive. Absurd! Yet, I am still appreciative of having the treatment and the life with less infections. I may require this treatment for the rest of my life, but I will make this story meaningful, regardless of the absurd situation of having bone marrow no longer creating an immune system. I’ve got needles and a story, so I’m ready for what may come next.

Dr. Jeffrey Bone