I made a sling for my unruly joints!

I've been sitting here for several minutes, writing a few sentences then deleting them again, and trying to figure out what I'm trying to say here. I think I'm just going to jump in and share...

I'm currently being evaluated by my doctors for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. I was diagnosed at 17 with Hypermobility joint syndrome (which I've been told by one of my doctors is the same as EDS), and lately my joints have basically decided they're tired of behaving normally. Apparently they want to break up and separate... a lot.

Because I've been having a lot of joint issues, I've been ending up with even more pain than usual. (I also have fibromyalgia, as well as a laundry list of other things... wheee....). My right shoulder did something incredibly painful a couple of nights ago, and the next morning I realized I needed a sling but didn't have one.

I made due with a scarf tied into a makeshift sling yesterday, and today my shoulder is tolerable. But considering the way things have been going lately, I decided it would be good to have a sling on hand for the next time one of my arms decided to do its thing. First I went to the internet, but the cheap slings weren't good and the good slings weren't cheap. No big surprise there...

I then went to my fabric stash and pulled out the leg from a pair of jeans, the waistband from another pair of jeans, and some velcro. Because sewing denim is a chore for sewing machines I grabbed my hand sewing kit and got started.

I just finished it, and I'm really happy with it. It's not overly baggy like some slings, and the pocket part my arm rests in is actually long enough to reach to where my fingers start. I added a 1" parachute buckle that I slightly modified to work a bit better with the pattern in my head, so now I don't have to adjust the length of the strap every time I put it on.

This is only the beginning, though. I don't want a boring sling... I want to have fun with it. I'm planning to add some embroidery to it, maybe make some patches for it. I'm excited, because this is where the real fun begins!

Ahh, who am I kidding. Making the sling was fun too... and well worth the grand total of $1.50! I'm assuming this will be a fairly long-term project that I add to as inspiration hits me. Hopefully I'll have some cute photos of it soon!

So tell me- do you have any suggestions for what I should add to this? I'm gladly accepting suggestions!

Until next time!

One of those moments...

Have you ever had one of those days that's just utterly overwhelming? You know, everything's going wrong, you can't quite figure out how to do things, and you just feel like you're at your wits' end?

I've had a few weeks of that, and it's getting to me. It's nothing terribly serious, of course, but I'm dealing with new medical stuff, lots of new joint pains, and I've had several moments lately where I just feel completely out of "cope". Then someone comes along and makes an offhand comment that somehow resets my cope levels and makes me feel so much better.

Today my family and I went to a local burger place. We go there often enough that the staff recognizes us and jokes around with us. Today was no different, and we had several laughs with them while we were there.

That's nice, and it did cheer me up. But as we were leaving, I had one of those moments... the staff member we'd been joking with earlier stopped us on our way out the door. He told us that he really does love to see us come in, because we brighten up his day and make it just that little bit happier.

I'm not going to lie, I smiled and thanked him, and my husband told him that he makes our days better too. We walked out to our car and I had a bit of a happy cry...

Sometimes life with chronic illness can feel overwhelming and endless. Sometimes it feels like it's too much and it's not worth fighting through. But those moments when someone tells me that I make their life better?

It totally makes everything worth it. And I'm crying again thinking about it, explaining it to my husband who was wondering why I was suddenly sniffling. Those little moments of connection are everywhere, and they connect us in so many ways.

That kind word you give to someone can affect them so much more deeply than you could ever imagine.