Coping with Chronicle Illness, Dr. Chen's Way

Coping with chronicle illness is easy. With Dr. Chen more than 7 month of illness, everyday, and every meal is a struggle. If not coping correctly, it is easy to set in some irreversible vicious cycles which would end up with self-destruction. I write this down to share with my friends; not for you, because I hope you would never have to go through the suffering I am at this moment. But if you have relatives who are suffering from chronicle illness, this note may be useful.

What are the possible vicious cycles with chronicle illness ? First, the malnutrition vicious cycle. The reason is pretty simple, because the patient has no appetite. Malnutrition can create another problems in addition to your current illness. For Dr. Chen, I am fortunate. I have a dietitian relative who happened had read my suffering story. She called and advised me to drink a complete nutritional balance drink, called Ensure (manufactured and marketed by Abbott Lab.). This drink is not cheap. It costs approximately $1.10 per bottle. But, every time I drink Ensure, I feel somewhat reassured for future recovery.

Second, the depression vicious cycle. The patient has a tendency to withdraw from the social cycles and become self-pity and bitter about life. One way to overcome that is to find a support group. My wife had helped me out to take me out to participate in church choir. I also pray earnestly. Praying forces to articulate what I can find something to be thankful in each day's struggling. I also keep myself busy in preparing my spring semester teaching, because I know that finding the meaning of everyday life keeps me on the track.

Other therapies which I find useful are doing exercise, watching funny shows in the TV. Exercises help me improve appetite at least temporally. Laughter is the best medicine. Find anything funny and laugh the gut is a good therapy.

I share this thought with you. I also need you to continue to pray for me. Anything you do is very comforting to me and I really appreciate it because I know I am not suffering alone.