{"id":434,"date":"2013-01-28T22:34:38","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T22:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=434"},"modified":"2013-01-26T21:25:57","modified_gmt":"2013-01-26T21:25:57","slug":"prejudice-to-those-who-are-annoyed-or-put-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/prejudice-to-those-who-are-annoyed-or-put-off.html","title":{"rendered":"Prejudice – To Those Who Are Annoyed or Put Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As a companion blog to “Prejudice\u00a0– How We Cope,” I thought this might respond to those on the other side of chronic pain and illness:<\/p>\n

“To those who may be annoyed, put off, or otherwise inconvenienced by people with chronic illness, pain, and other health challenges:<\/p>\n

“Peace to you!<\/p>\n

“You don’t know me, and I don’t know you, but I hear that my presence in your life is a bit problematic for you.\u00a0Perhaps\u00a0some of you you don’t like the time it takes for me to board\u00a0the bus in my wheelchair.\u00a0\u00a0Or, perhaps\u00a0my coughing, which you can\u00a0hear from your house,\u00a0disturbs you (I’m in the later\u00a0stages of emphesyma). It might make you uncomfortable to see someone with my “deformities” as you eat your meal in a\u00a0restaurant.\u00a0\u00a0Or, it might make you resentful to see someone so apparently healthy get a prime parking place at the mall (in a handicap space) while you had to park rows and rows from the entrance.<\/p>\n

“I understand that it can be frustrating to be next in line at a check-out counter behind me, with my gnarled hands that can barely hold a wallet.\u00a0 I “get it” that my slow, lopsided gait\u00a0makes you impatient as you idle\u00a0at an intersection, waiting for me to cross the street. And I am with you that my need to ask the pharmacist myriad questions about a new medication eats up the extra minutes in your day.<\/p>\n

“Yes, please know that I do understand all of these things and more, and I am sorry if they have caused you discomfort. But please understand, too, that if these things inconvenience you, they are no picnic for me, either.<\/p>\n

“You see me for a snapshot of time in my life. I live this way for the whole movie.\u00a0 If you think your glimpse of me is difficult, you should see behind-the-scenes!<\/p>\n

“You might wish I kept to myself and did not venture out into public. But, my life is precious to me, a gift from God, and I am grateful for the moments when I can do ordinary things, see the world, and feel like I am a part of a wonderful, vast, diverse whole.\u00a0 As you age, or as your health declines, you will understand what I mean, because everyone in his or her life will have some kind of health problem, large or small. It’s all part of being human. Then, this blog will take on a more personal meaning – and I’ll be right there with you!<\/p>\n

“I know that you’re not a bad person, and I believe you do not wish me or anyone else any harm.\u00a0 In fact, we might become friends, if we had more time to get to know one another.\u00a0Please know that I hope for you all the best that life can bring. I\u00a0pray for you each day, and I thank you for the courtesies you extend to me each time we meet. I know that, were I in your shoes and you in mine, you would appreciate the same from me.<\/p>\n

“Blessings,<\/p>\n

“A Friend”<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a companion blog to “Prejudice\u00a0– How We Cope,” I thought this might respond to those on the other side of chronic pain and illness: “To those who may be annoyed, put off, or otherwise inconvenienced by people with chronic illness, pain, and other health challenges: “Peace to you! “You don’t know me, and I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,43,4],"tags":[377,29,44,376,378,30,96,374,20],"class_list":["post-434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","tag-able-bodied-people","tag-chronic-illness","tag-chronic-pain","tag-disabilities","tag-illnes","tag-pain","tag-prayer","tag-prejudice","tag-understanding"],"yoast_head":"\nPrejudice - To Those Who Are Annoyed or Put Off - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/01\/prejudice-to-those-who-are-annoyed-or-put-off.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prejudice - To Those Who Are Annoyed or Put Off - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a companion blog to “Prejudice\u00a0– How We Cope,” I thought this might respond to those on the other side of chronic pain and illness: “To those who may be annoyed, put off, or otherwise inconvenienced by people with chronic illness, pain, and other health challenges: “Peace to you! 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434\/revisions\/437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}