By the way, the nausea and abdominal pain are finally gone and I weighed 83 pounds this morning!
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About Michelle
- Michelle Mayer
- I'm a 39 year old mother of 2 battling a rare autoimmune disease called scleroderma. Until December, I was a professor in the School of Public Health at UNC. I deal with the topic of death head-on in an unflinching way. I believe that, as a culture, we shy away from anything surrounding death and, consequently, deprive ourselves of all the lessons inherent in the dying and grieving process. We ignore the reality that death is as much a part of life as birth. My posts cover the gamut of human emotions because, as an Italian American, I have always had a "rich" emotional life. While many posts are sad just as many are comical. This is not my version of "The Last Lecture." It is my heart, my thoughts, my joys, and my fears as they unfold along this journey. My hope is that you will find some of it useful on your own life's journey. I hope that sharing my experiences will help not only those struggling with terminal illnesses but also those who are blessedly healthy.
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3 comments:
Hi Michelle,
Allison Colgin sent me a link to your blog, and I have been reading it all morning. Is there a way to e-mail you directly rather than leave comments on the blog?
With love,
Lexi
Lexi,
My email is michelle_mayer@unc.edu
Look forward to hearing from you.
Michelle
Thank you for your sharing in your video, and in your blog. I work for a hospice, and I've had people tell me that living with the awareness that death is coming can lead to a deeper, richer life, however contradictory that sounds. I'm so glad you're gaining weight, and I hope you're here a long time. But I do think it's really good that you are so open with everyone, your kids especially, about living with your challenges and the possibility that your life will be short.
My mom was 36 when she died, and one of the gifts it gave me was a greater awareness that we may run out of time a lot sooner than we expect. It made me want to make my life as full of meaning as it can be. My life has been very good. And though I feared I'd die young like my mother did, here I am, almost 54, glad to be showing signs of aging, and very thankful that I've been given this long.
None of us knows how long we have, and all of us are dying eventually. It's just some live with that knowledge more intensely than others. And you are leaving such a legacy for your children by these blogs, and that video. It will be treasured when your time eventually comes.
Take care of yourself, and keep living as well as you can.
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