I have no issues with my identity.~ Rashida Jones

In the last 24 hours, I’ve had reason to contemplate “identity” from various points of view. If you’re going to throw yourself to the social media wolves, you have to expect that kind of thing to happen. My last entry generated some words about how I define myself solely as a medical patient. Those words were not meant kindly, but were rather an attempt to censure me. It seems I touched a nerve.

For the record, my life does revolve around medical care. This is primarily due to the fact that without medical care, well, my life would be very different. I go from one appointment to the next, one treatment to the next and one more set of challenges shows up at least weekly.

I do not consider my illnesses to be my identity. That would be short-changing all the other aspects of my life; wife, mother, sister, teacher, mentor and community volunteer. While illness is certainly part of me, it’s not all of me.