When the following card arrived, along with a package, all the way from Azerbaijan in the post - I was blown away that reader Leisa had taken the time to think of me. The card did indeed make me smile! It was such a genuine gesture, and so incredibly thoughtful that she’d taken such lengths to find ORANGE in honor of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy awareness! 

Just that simple thought alone would have been more than enough for me! In fact, a simple comment, email or tweet does wonders for my spirit (and for those pesky wrinkle lines being created by all the smiles y’all bring!) So, when I opened Leisa’s package, I was floored…

“Thought you might like it,” may be the understatement of the century! I LOVE it. How unexpected and again, so incredibly thoughtful!

I’ve called it before, but I think it’s safe to now say it’s official: TheProject3x5 has the best readers in the world :) Thank you so much, Leisa!!! And love to everyone else who reads me, thinks about me, prays for me, writes to me - anything. It never goes unnoticed.

All my love, Danielle xx

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On TheProject3x5 all things are possible! So, let’s go back in time..! All the way to last week and the short post on my perfection of staying in bed. Remember it? I know, I know… I’m asking a lot after what was most likely a busy week filled with pain, stress, treatments, etc. But it’s important! Click here for a quick refresher. There’s backtracking to be done! Turns out I spoke too soon… 

I promise in advance that all of this writing will in the end have something to do with pictures of horses and with me getting out of bed…

One of my very best friends, Danielle (go figure!), berates me in the best of ways with the A.A. Milne quote, “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” This token of hope, strength, and wisdom is an amazing little tool and a wonderful reminder to have in an ‘ill one’s’ back-pocket when nothing else will do… but at the end of the day, when you think about it and put the quote into context… we ‘ill ones’ ultimately don’t actually need it.

Why? Well, having a Chronic Illness, being ‘sick’, and/or clawing your way back from the edge (feel free to put this into context if you’ve never been ill but have had to work hard for something, have had some sort of trauma, anything you’d like…) has already allowed you to prove to yourself once and for all that you ARE braver than you believe - perhaps braver than anyone initially believed! For the record… that was not a calming experience, People! It was scary! You felt alone. But you made it through the tunnel and you’re out the other side. Or you will be, soon. After dark comes light.

You’re damn strong too! Satisfyingly so! I’ll bet you don’t even realize it, but someone out there most likely looks up to you. You’re a survivor. A fighter. You held on and look at what you made it through!

Perhaps most importantly, however, you are so much, so mind-blowingly much, smarter than you seem. Because on top of everything that you dealt or are dealing with, you made it through the awful brain fog. Hell, you may simply exist in the awful brain fog… but that’s ok too! You’re still a clever-clogs! Do you know how much your poorly little brain is still managing to do in the middle of a brain-weather nightmare? No one should expect that you’d be 100% functioning normally with all of this, yet you probably strive to. You’re smarter than you think. 

So what’s this got to do with me, bed, and with pictures of horses..? 

On my 7th attempt to get out of bed last week, Mr. A.A. Milne and all that his quote has stood for in my fight against CRPS/RSD, decided to kick my little butt into gear and remind me that I am indeed brave, strong, and smart. And though she was a continent away and no where to be seen, Danielle’s face seemed to hover reminding me that I’ve seen worse, I’ve seen better, and I’ve never been one to lay down without a proper fight. 

My 7th attempt found me out of bed and on a friend’s farm. 

There will still be days for now when I will need my bed - part of any strength in a fight like this also comes in knowing and accepting that - but thankfully, this turned out not to be one of them. The weather, the company, and the setting were perfect! And as my last weekend in Trinidad, I’m thrilled I didn’t miss out.

Sometimes things go spectacularly right. I could not have felt more blessed. 

Lots of love, Danielle xx

Ps: Danielle is ironically fighting the fact that she has broken bones on both feet. Get well soon, Dan! xx

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