NHBPM Day 5: Five ways I have changed since I started advocating

 

Today’s NHBPM: 5 things that changed my life. For better? For worse? List 5 things that changed your life as a patient, caregiver, or Health Activist and how.

There are been so many things that I have changed my life since RA and Fibromyalgia came into my life. However, I am going to talk about the five ways I have changed since I started advocating.  I have always had a knack for helping people and that is why I went in the legal field in the first place.  In the beginning, I advocated because it helped me. Later on, I advocated because it helped others. After that, it was because I was good at it and then, my brother got sick, I did it because I had to.  Now, I do it in memory of my brother.  All these five reasons have changed my life and that has changed how I think and how I feel.

Advocacy and chronic illness have changed my perspective.  I no longer see success as how much money I make or what my professional title is.  I see success in faces, voices, and emails from those I have been able to reach out to.   I have definitely changed from someone who just wanted to climb the career ladder.

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J