Message from Jamie Holloway
For eleven years I have been learning to live well with chronic illness. It hasn’t been perfect. I haven’t always been successful at achieving my goals. It has been a chaotic, messy, learning experience that has made my life adventurous. I have learned a lot about how complicated, dangerous & even emotionally, spiritually & mentally draining living with several diagnoses is.
I am asked by my many doctors, nurses, caregivers, friends, family, strangers & store clerks how I have maintained my good attitude despite the many medical adventures, I have lived through, that might have left me feeling bitter, angry, broken & unforgiving. All I can say is, I made decisions & I followed through. One decision was to fight for me. Jesus fought for me so why shouldn’t I?
I also realized, I didn’t want my crawl through lifelong sickness, just for my own benefit. I wanted to be a wellness advocate & help those who are in the same predicament. I wanted to be one of the helpers that Mr. Roger’s speaks about. I do this by reminding myself that my attitude can help me navigate through the dark channels of chronic illness.
I am determined to say thank you to the doctors, nurses, caregivers, anyone who helps me. Showing gratitude reminds you that your life is not over just because you are sick. I say thank you & I mean it. I also decided that I didn’t want to become idle. I want to actually accomplish something, so I started writing.
I believe communicating my pain, needs, & being willing to listen as part of communication allows me to be able to be in a good relationship with my team. I have a good support system of family, friends, doctors, nurses, & caregivers who allow me to achieve many of the goals I have made. I am able to live in my home & able to keep on breathing, writing, reading & loving on my boy, Nicholas.
Since 2017 I have been an owner of Wellness Works NW. I serve as the Research Manager. I am a lead writer & my column is called Chasing Wellness.
Read Jamie’s Latest Blog Posts…
Book Review: Critical Alliance
If you read my blog and see the kinds of books I read, you’ll notice a read a lot of FBI, CIA, Espionage types of books. The latest ones I just finished is “Critical Alliance” by Elizabeth Goddard. I have read several of her books previously and love them, this...
Book Review: Ghost Forest
Just finished reading a great novel by Canadian/Korean author Pik-Shuen Fung first book Ghost Forest. I received this book in February or March in the LIterati Book Club selection, but because my to be read pile is huge. I was not able to...
Book Review: A Hole in the World
I am familiar with grieving. I started the grieving process when my birth mom passed away when I was 13 years old. Then a lot of deeply traumatic changes started happening in my life and it has not changed since then. So when I offered a chance to read Rachel...
Book Review: Where The Road Bends
The latest novel I read is by Rachel Fordham called “Where the Road Bends”. This is a sad novel, but has a happy ending. It is a novel about forgiveness even when it is someone that you feel betrayed you and caused you to lose something of importance. I enjoyed...
Goals for July
Happy Independence! With the way things have been going on with the Supreme Court ruling and other things it is hard to remember the good things about being an U.S. Citizen. I am choosing to remember the good things, while at the same time fighting for my rights as a...
Empties for June
I used a lot of great sheet masks this month, some of them more than once therefore my list is not that long. This month I focused a lot on using the sheet mask because it was cool and felt great on my face. Prednisone plays havoc on my skin and makes my face feel...
Update on June Goal!
Sadly, I did not meet up too many of the goals I set for June. A lot of things are going on in my life medically that have left me feeling overwhelmed and I have chosen to rest. So I will update you on some of the changes medically that are happening. I am still...
Book Review: Among the Innocent
Just finished another novel in June. Another detective mystery called Among the Innocent by Mary Alford. This is about a woman whose family was murdered and she was spared. They thought they caught the guy, but turns out it was not the guy they thought it was....
Book Review: I Can Be Your Friend
I got read another sweet children’s book by the Veggie Tales called “I Can Be Your Friend”. What a sweet story and a creative way of teaching children how to be a good friend with all different types of people. I love it. Veggie Tales is always so creative and...
Book Review: Elysium Tide
The weather has been crazy here in Washington State, rainy and then sunny. I call it Bi-polar weather because it cannot make up its mind. Friday night, while it rained outside I laid in my bed getting lost in the story world that James R. Hannibal created in...