Tag: hope

What My Life’s Like After Finally Achieving Remission from Lyme Disease & Chronic Illness

~ Hope Heal Cook ~ 7 Comments

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If you’ve been following me then you probably already know: I achieved remission from Lyme disease and its major co-infections at the start of the year. Then I totally unplugged & took a some time off, which I talk about in my post: How I Transitioned From a Chronic Illness Identity.

Reaching remission is kinda a big deal, and I realized that what I hadn’t shared what its actually been like after 20+ years of chronic illness & 7+ years of full time treatments, to finally be “better.” Until now. Continue reading “What My Life’s Like After Finally Achieving Remission from Lyme Disease & Chronic Illness” →

How I Transitioned From a Chronic Illness Identity

~ Hope Heal Cook ~ 8 Comments

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I’ve been sick for most of my life, and as such, illness ended up becoming a basic part of my identity: I was the sick girl, the one with all the weird symptoms and intolerances and diagnoses and treatments. The last several years, while I was full time healing from end stage Chronic Lyme Disease, my entire life revolved around illness.

So when I hit remission several months ago, it wasn’t just “Yay I’m better!” but also “Woah, now what?” Continue reading “How I Transitioned From a Chronic Illness Identity” →

How Lyme Disease Taught Me to Let Go & Let Love In: an Interview with MoreThanLyme.org

~ Hope Heal Cook ~ Leave a comment

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At the peak of my illness, I had to let go of virtually everything. In doing so I found a new freedom. 

The often painful process of letting go has been transformational. Only by emptying myself of so much, did I discover what it is to be truly full: of life, of love, and of the magic present in each moment. Of all of the things I’ve had to let go of during my time with Chronic Lyme, I believe what’s most profound is the extent to which I’ve let go of my own suffering.   Continue reading “How Lyme Disease Taught Me to Let Go & Let Love In: an Interview with MoreThanLyme.org” →

Chronic Illness + Becoming Familiar With Fear

~ Hope Heal Cook ~ 2 Comments

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For the longest time it hadn’t occurred to me that I was brave. When someone would comment on my perceived bravery in the face of chronic illness and long term healing, I would ask myself, “Is this true?” I began to wonder if I was indeed brave, despite not feeling it.

Whenever I’m looking for an answer, I start by asking a question. In this case, What does it really mean to be brave? Why is it that others saw courage within me, and more important, why is it that I hadn’t seen it in myself? Continue Reading…