There have been times when I was physically well that I had to be more resilient than I realized. It has taught me a lot about caring for myself and being stronger on my own when others could not be there for me. Falling ill is not fun for anyone, but when you throw being autistic and other challenges in the mix, it makes it more challenging and complicated.

There have been a few times that I have had the traditional stomach bug, but nothing tops them all than when I was at trade school. I was so sick that I had to go to the Emergency Room twice in the middle of an ice storm. My parents lived over an hour away and could not get to me even if they tried. Just for the health clinic to be able to talk to them was a challenge as federal privacy laws protected health clinic staff from doing so without consent. It was just a challenge in of itself for me to consent to that. There was a belief that I had C-Diff but that was ruled out, it was a bad stomach bug that cleared up in a few days with a modified diet.

Another contentious time was when I had coughing issues and had gone to my family doctor on a Friday. I was sent home with medicine over the weekend and as ironic as it may seem, my parents went on a distant road trip thinking it was just that bad cough. By Monday, it was proven after breathing treatment that I would need to go to an emergency room. Through more comprehensive testing, it was determined that I would have to be admitted to the hospital. There were no beds in the hospital, so the first place I ended up was what I call the “holding floor.” It was in an older part of the hospital, very dark and creepy. My mother recalls having to wear protective gear to visit me, but I do not remember it. All I remember is the fact that I broke out in a rash to a medication and that it was the care was subpar.

23 hours later, I would be transferred to a regular room where the care was much better. Things were getting on the mend and two days later I would go home, although I would have to stay home for another week, I did not realize how bad things were at the time, but there were so many people that were caring, praying or whatever they could do to help me in the process. I had been away from home before, but I did not realize how scared some people were of how I was, I do not even know totally how, but I pulled through and overcame those struggles just like I did anything else.

In the end it has taught me to be just as resilient as I am in my mental health and that I am stronger than I allow myself to think sometimes. Everything that we think and do about ourselves is up to us to decide and understand. We must know when it comes to whether we have the power within us to bounce back from our challenges.