Parisa Fitz-Henley Instagram – Look at the Universe.✨ I did laundry (finally). This shirt was clean (finally). Traveled w/it because it’s a fave. It grabbed me so I threw it on. Walked out the door thinking ‘I ♥️ this shirt’ (I don’t usually like words on my clothes but it’s comfy & the right size & good energy) & then thought ‘Wait. What day is today?’ IT’S 7/10!! #ChronicDiseaseDay!! @chronicdiseaseday sent me this shirt a yr or so ago, but I didn’t get to post. Still I appreciated it & what it made me think of: How many people I love, including me, have lived w/chronic disease (CD). Examples of these are heart disease, stroke, cancer, depression, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma & many more. Any disease that lasts 3+ mos. Some greatly impact lives, some are more manageable. CDs are very common — 6 in 10 Americans live or have lived w/at least 1! 30% have multiple! Covid increased that number as per the WHO, 10-20% of Covid infections leads to Long Covid. 😓 Many of these diseases are ‘invisible’ — so a lot of us, our family & loved ones are dealing w/challenges others may have no clue about. These diseases are often neglected by our healthcare system & folks w/some of them are often told for years their symptoms are ‘all in their head.’ Black & brown communities especially face higher incidences of CD. Greater levels of childhood trauma & poverty also predispose us to chronic disease. Having a CD doesn’t have to be a terrible experience. But what goes a loooong way to making them manageable is addressing systemic, interpersonal, & internalized ableism — things that not only make CDs difficult but create more of them — & cultivating more thoughtful communities. We can do this by learning more about the experiences of those w/CD, practicing empathy rather than sympathy (feeling WITH rather than FOR), supporting prevention/treatment, respecting accessibility like parking spots & bathroom stalls designed for folks w/disabilities & learning about ableism (it’s stunningly common in our speech, buildings, media & more). Learning about CDs can enrich individual lives & communities. Let’s do it! #IStayStrong for all! @chronicdiseaseday Image Description in Alt Text