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Dear Mike O and Andrea,
I'm happy that others have wanted to discuss this a little. Andrea hits the nail on the head as far as perspective and attitude, which as we all know is most of the battle. I value the ability to be treated in a first world country with the benefits of modern medicine which have advanced incredibly over the years.And it is important to remember that little things in life are just "little things". It's not that I complain over the fact that I am sick and others my age are simply running around enjoying their 20s as they should.But it is seems that, along with most things in life, there are two sides to the issue. Having SAA has made me realize many incredible things about life, my family, my friends and other wonderful human beings at an early age. Yet at the same time it becomes difficult to hang out with people your age and see at what a different place you are at in your life. I do know that I have grown a lot because of my battles. But the hurdle of illness spreads through every aspect of your life and this seems particularly difficult to deal with many times.
Personally, I had to give up my dream job with the United Nations in South America and move to a new place where I know very few people and i am currently trying to find a new career path.I surely cannot imagine what it would be like to fall ill and have children depending on you(I'm sure that stress is even worse than anything I am going through).
In the end, I think that Andrea is where she is because she has truly accepted the reality of illness. I don't know whether or not it took twenty years to get there. All I can say is that adjusting to life after these completely destabilizing has been incredibly difficult. Many times when I meet people I don't know whether or not to bring up these issues. Or when I meet a girl I'm interested in, I always hesitate to say anything about my condition since it is a pretty big downer(even though I speak of it with a light tone).
Anyway, hopefully by talking about these issues here we will all get to where Andrea is. Thanks for the feedback. I hope we can keep venting about these issues here on order to grow and accept ourselves and our situation in the world.
best regards,
Santiago
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