Kelly

Healthy people sometimes look at someone with chronic illness and think: “You didn’t even do anything today. Why are you so exhausted?” Because you’re measuring activity. We’re measuring cost. Imagine waking up every morning with $100 worth of energy. A shower costs you $3. Getting dressed costs $2. Driving somewhere costs $5. You barely notice the withdrawals because there’s plenty in the account. Now imagine waking up with $20. The shower still costs $3. Getting dressed still costs $2. The drive still costs $5. Except now, before lunch, half your account is gone. That’s chronic illness. We’re not lazy. We’re budgeting. Sometimes we skip the shower because we need those $3 to make dinner. Sometimes we cancel plans because we’ve already spent tomorrow’s money. Sometimes you see us sitting perfectly still and assume we’re doing nothing. No. We’re trying not to go into overdraft. And the cruelest part? People with $100 in the bank keep giving financial advice to people trying to survive on $20. You cannot judge someone’s spending when you have no idea what their balance was when they woke up.