Friends are blessing and they are angels if they help us in bad times. We asked to our community “Living with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Illness” a question that What’s the best gift a friend has given you while you were sick?. Lots of member participated in the thread and share their best moments with us.
Here is what community Shares with us:
1. Kathleen Brockway :When I was hospitalized last summer my neighbor-down-the road and his girlfriend took care of my 5 dogs. They also took everything out of my bedroom, painted the walls, and cleaned the carpet. Then they rearranged the furniture to make it easier for me to use from a wheelchair. They took me grocery shopping every week until I recovered enough to drive myself.
2. Tifney Schoenfeld : The best thing my one and only friend that stuck by me is time. Time spent with me on my energy level. No expectations, no strings, no guilt. Means more to me than anything.
3. Morgan Nation : Allowing me to have my space, and understanding there’s times when I can’t be there for them and times when I just don’t want to talk to anyone but still loving me the same. Being able to sense when I’m having an “episode” even when I don’t realize it myself and forcing me to get out of bed instead of laying in bed alone crying and having terrible thoughts
4. Kayle Rose Mannino : My friend for christmas gave me a gluten free, dairy free cook book. While the book is nice, the thought of understanding and acceptance that i have to get this way cause of fibro means the world to me.
5. Sureyma Tapia Wozny : Small electric lap blanket that hooks into USB drive and warms up. My hubby got that for me.
6. Connie Campbell : Babysitting/watching my kids so I can rest.
7. Emily Harvey Lacroix : A recording of a favorite book was very helpful to distract from pain and focus on when I couldn’t read. Helped me fall asleep too.
8. Jessica A Walker : A cooked meal, I had a friend who would do this for me and at the time it was so so awesome cuz it was so hard for me to work and cook for my kids when my hubby was over seas.
9. Christine Catalina : just listening; hearing me out and scheduled visits at home to help with household chores that I can’t do while I’m sick
10. Jackie Rivera : An invite to her home for a nice dinner deserts a blanket and open ears. Time to listen learn share cry and laugh. She doesn’t know how much this means to me
11. Emmy Breese : My mum, dad and my brother all help me carry shopping bags, lift certain things for me, my friends support me and their time is precious to me just being with them is thebest and my boyfriend supports me with everything he never moans when I moan he just hugs me and makes me laugh, he helps me carry heavy bags even though I can be stubborn and say no no I can carry it” he tries his best to massage my neck and shoulders even though one time he used his thumbs to dig into my deltoids….I didn’t stop him because I didn’t want him to feel bad but boy did I feel the bruising the next day that’s when I told him he said sorry but we both burst out laughing afterwards!!! Just peoples company is the best gift ever
12. Abigail Formas : My best friend Farrah has brought me candy, slippers, coloring books, etc which were always loved, needed, appreciated and used!! However, the best gift she’s given me when I was sick in the hospital was the non-materialistic and all emotional side of friendship. She would support me to the max almost every admission these past two years and we are only 20 (me) and 17 (her): she would lie with me in bed, help me walk to the bathroom, encourage me to eat when I couldn’t, she would convince me to walk with her to the pantry (to steal snacks shhh) when I wasn’t going out of my room, and she just made me mood so much brighter and better. Farrah is a two time survivor of Osteosarcoma herself so she just gets it – her gift of emotional support and not expecting me to “entertain” her during visits is the absolute best, I love this girl so damn much!!
13. Celeste Easterday : Taken to a floatation tank. Was so thoughtful and honestly the first kind gesture specifically targeting me having some physical relief that anyone had done for me and my 6 diseases since I was diagnosed starting 20 years prior.
14. Meaghan Morrison: I believe fibromyalgia steals your soul.
Today I thank my husband for putting some spark back in my eyes with this fun idea to enjoy my morning cuppa ☕️ without having to go through the pain of moving too much ? ( I have a kink in my neck & shoulder)
15. Lisa Argiropulos : Someone cleaned my house for me…bestgift ever!!
16. Lisa Harvin : On days I’m hurting bad and hard to stand. I’ve been using a old bar stool to sit on to do dishes cooking ECT. In the kitchen. My boyfriend took it and redid it. Painted it and put rolling wheels on. Totally amazing. I luv it.
17. Tiffany Blake : Mine isn’t a material thing but recently a friend of mine wouldn’t let me mop my kitchen floor. It’s not a big room by any means but she took over and made me sit down. And she just recently found out I have Fibromyalgia and other conditions as she just came back into my life again. I’ve never had that happen before and it just surprised me that she knew I wasn’t capable of doing it myself. .
18. Jennipher Crowther-Brown : The best thing I ever received was a jar full of lifelong memories from a friend I’ve known my whole life, my best friend. The jar was full of little folded post it notes and each and every one had a memory from all our years of being friends in it. Mixed in with the memories were empowering, uplifting and inspiring quotes. I was in hospital two years ago and feeling very down as I couldn’t walk and was really struggling after major pelvic surgery. This little jar really made my day, week, month, year even and brought happy tears to my eyes!
19. Abigail Bassett :Advice to have peppermint tea.I have one a day & it fixed my pain.
20. Lori Lutter-Slater :I have a friend who sent me cards, many, many cards, while I was doing Chemo and Fibro at the same time. Some had angel dust, some were funny, some were prayerful, but they all made me feel loved and positive. Kathy was such an angel!
21. Jen Sanchez-Santiago : The mattress, the pain on a regular mattress is taunting. A foam mattress Ben’s to the curves of your joints and body and that will be a blessing thanks to my niece.
22. Suzanne EnJimmy : Put up a blow up swimming pool from 2 meters by 1 meter filling my complete balcony, filling it up with buckets of warm and cold water until temperature felt good for me, helping me to get undressed till my underwear just to see if floating helped to ease the pain, by holding on to me in just my armpits. And to be honest.. Just for a little moment it did work! I don’t know if it was because of all the caring, the trust of not letting me drown or the floating itself but it calmed me down.
23. Kelly Baughman : My hubby is my best friend the best gift he gave me . was right after I found out fall of 2016 and I was fixing to go to an essential oils convention. And at that time I did a lot of arts and crafts . Just before I left for Utah I told him to get rid of all my stuff. While I was gone and when I got home he had n t got rid of my stuff he told me I got a changllen. For you have from now till next September to make as many things you can make but what you make must be enter in the State Fair well I took him on and I enter what I made I didn’t win any thing but I won in my book because he helped me see that yes I have fibro but that doesn’t t mean I have to give up everything I just have to take things slower and that’s ok I have been given a gift and I need to. Keep using it and it’s ok to take my time
24. Cynthia Hamilton : Her time and understanding. So much so that she researched all the meds, supplements and info she could find just so she could help me
25. Terri Allen : Bulgar wheat pillow that can be heated or chilled.
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