{"id":951,"date":"2013-12-10T10:31:33","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T10:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=951"},"modified":"2013-12-08T20:46:26","modified_gmt":"2013-12-08T20:46:26","slug":"important-to-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/12\/important-to-remember.html","title":{"rendered":"Important to Remember"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If my experience last week is any example, I was strongly reminded that illness does not go on a holiday during the holidays – and when things go awry, it’s important to seek the right help, even if it interferes with holiday plans.<\/p>\n

Monday, I felt fine. Monday evening, my right eye felt funny. By Tuesday \u00a0morning, sitting at my computer, I knew there was something wrong. My right eye did not “feel right,” but I was loathe to call my doctor much less drop everything and go in for an appointment. I knew that she would fit me in, which might mean a long wait in a crowded waiting room, and dreaded thinking of how disruptive it all would be. But as the eye worsened, I realized it didn’t matter that I was deep in Christmas preparations, deadlines, and soon-to-be holiday fun. \u00a0At all times of the year, eyesight is precious, so I picked up the phone and made the call.<\/p>\n

How glad I am that I did! Getting treatment early is, I found out, extremely important with viruses like shingles. Without making that call, the problem would have only worsened, and could have had even more horrible consequences if I’d have ignored it. Oh, yes, the whole experience was frightfully disruptive. But it could have been much worse.<\/p>\n

It’s difficult to acknowledge or admit to an illness during the holidays. I know people who drag themselves around, to shop, to work, to socialize, and who are hacking and wheezing and feverish. Perhaps they don’t realize that they can spread their “cheer” to others, or perhaps they care more for thinking their doing what they “should” during the holidays, instead of taking care of health.<\/p>\n

Besides those folks, there are, I know, those of us with chronic illnesses and pain who risk aggravating them (or exposing themselves to infections) because they don’t want to “miss out” on once-a-year events.<\/p>\n

How easy it would be if we could schedule in our flares, infections, and aggravated pain! Sweep them all away until a more “convenient” time, or at least until after the last Christmas ornament has been stowed away.<\/p>\n

But, life, especially with chronic illness and pain, just doesn’t work like that.<\/p>\n

Yes, the reminder I got this year was hard-learned, but important, and the outcome not as bad as it could have been.<\/p>\n

Lesson learned, Lord! Thank you!<\/p>\n

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

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

If my experience last week is any example, I was strongly reminded that illness does not go on a holiday during the holidays – and when things go awry, it’s important to seek the right help, even if it interferes with holiday plans. Monday, I felt fine. Monday evening, my right eye felt funny. By…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,3,43,4],"tags":[2120,844,846,30,845,843],"class_list":["post-951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","tag-christmas","tag-illness-and-the-holidays","tag-learning-a-hard-lesson","tag-pain","tag-planning-with-illness","tag-shingles"],"yoast_head":"\nImportant to Remember - 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\/12\/important-to-remember.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Important to Remember - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If my experience last week is any example, I was strongly reminded that illness does not go on a holiday during the holidays – and when things go awry, it’s important to seek the right help, even if it interferes with holiday plans. 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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\/951","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=951"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":952,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions\/952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}