Invisible & Not Believed. A Poem By Sherry L

It's been almost four winters
I have begged for help
With all that has been going on
within and without...

Four winters, just about
when my long blond hair
fell to the floor
in clumps
too hard to ignore that!

My eyes, always seeing ( or not seeing?)
spiderwebs through cotton balls
my every joint, every bone, my very skin
screaming...."HELP!"

Cramps and flares

Through self-advocating
through hours of mind-bending research
with hands cramped, fingers stiff
nerve endings flaring everywhere...

I found what I knew to be true
AS or AxialSpa in women is real,
not in my mind
But in precedented papers
written by doctors
through research they did find...

Gender has a hold on women
in a different way than men
And finally, I feel...vindicated
I feel a release...

Invisible illness

Of tension, of stress
just knowing it was true
not in my mind, as too
many doctors have said
yet now it's too late
Should I thank them?

Yes, I am angry at those "specialists"
diagnosing me with everything from "lupus"
to "fibro" and everything in between...

I changed health plans, doctors and specialists
and walked (in my mind) miles upon miles
to find...

HLA-B27

What all the other doctors, etc... said, "It's only
in males we find the HLA-B27 genetic code,
that's our final answer
now go away..."

I suffer every day
upon wakening (if I DO actually sleep)
and without sight most days,
or sight in 1 eye alone...
I suffer every day, every minute, in every way
Because I was invisible
and not believed..

I, like many, just wanted answers
I wanted to be heard
and though the outcome of my life
is not so great, I'm told
I take peace in knowing
I may not be as invisible
as I once was...

Progression of AS

The progression of AS is so awry
for each person
my AS is mine
and will be until the end...

I just pray all the researching I did
isn't for naught
I pray the answers I got
will help others to see
to fight, to get answers

That will bring others
The same peace...

To make others visible
to make them heard
to make them believed...

I refuse
any longer to be invisible and not heard..
so should you...

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