Originally Posted by
Bane
One of the things that often comes up on the Crohn's forums I visit is the belief that someone is a failure in life because they don't have a job/house/whatever. People are sad/angry that they can't do that. Rightfully so! I'm angry that a normal life was taken from me. But, at the same time, I recognize that I'm not playing by the same rules as everyone else. In the game of life, people with Crohn's (and other chronic illnesses/injuries/disabilities, whatever) are, sometimes quite literally, playing with a handicap. The win conditions have changed to simply staying alive/healthy. The secondary win conditions like job/house/whatever have been wiped out. Unattainable.
However, with that exchange comes a new option: creating your own secondary win conditions. I have three: 1: Hang out with friends/family. 2: Enjoy stories/games. 3: Build stuff. Pretty much all of my goals in life can be boiled down to one of those things. And I'm really, really good at them. And I'm alive. That makes me a gold-medal winner.