Disease for Sale!

I have come to the conclusion that you must become a salesperson when you have a chronic illness. Example: Friend: "Hey! How are you?"
You: "Good! I'm feeling OK!"
Reality - You are in excruciating pain, are so tired you can't see straight and can't even remember your own name.

See, this is not the information others want to hear for a number of reasons. First of all, it makes them feel horrible to know that someone they care about is going through something so awful. Second, they feel even worse because they can't do anything to make it better - that's what we as humans are programmed to do when something is wrong, we fix it and make it better. Lastly, we (those of us "blessed" with illness) remind people of their own mortality, how fragile life is and how your world can be turned upside-down in a heartbeat.

I have known many great "salesman"...my father is a great salesman, both in reality as well as illness-wise. One of our conversations went a little something like this...
Dad: "Hi honey! How are you?"
Me: "You know, hangin' in there. Kids are doing good, hubby is doing good. How are you?"
Dad: "Oh, how is Princess' school going?"
Me: "It's good! She loves it...wait...how are YOU doing?"
Dad: "So, she really likes it, huh? Is she making new friends?"
Me: "Dad, how are YOU doing? You didn't answer my question."
Dad: "Well, I have to go in for surgery...but it's outpatient, you know, no big deal."
Me: "Holy cow! Dad, what are you having done?!"
Dad: "Just some skin cancer, nothing big. It's not the bad kind, just snip a few pieces and then I'm home!"

As you can see, I have been trained by the best.

It's easier to tell the people you love only a part of what is really happening and how you are feeling rather than hear the hurt in their voice and see the agony through the tears in their eyes. So...other than the crippling pain, debilitating fatigue and dementia-like memory problems..I FEEL GREAT!!!