In response to my post,  Crafts Good for Mental Health, one of my readers shared her  experiences with mixed media art in her struggle with multiple sclerosis. 

“Crafting and art has kept me sane,” she said, in spite of her left hand sometimes experiencing pain. 

I’d imagine her crafting also keeps her hands more agile, even though she does have some pain.  I know this was true of my grandmother.

Nanny’s hands were curled and crippled with arthritis in her later years.  However, she insisted on keeping them busy with snapping beans, shucking peas, mending clothes, stitching quilts, making doll clothes, and crocheting rag rugs.  I recall sitting beside her learning these tasks and recall her misshapen hands busy as she told me stories.

Image: sxc.hu

My daughter, who found quilting a stress reliever during her husband’s illness, experienced a serious illness herself last year.  As she recovered, but still was weak, she found inspiration through her quilt art and her quilting friends.

How have crafts inspired and aided you?

The maker of Vioxx has agreed to pay $4.85bn to settle legal claims that the controversial drug caused many users to suffer strokes and heart failure.

Holy Potatoes is what I have to say. But I guess it could have been far worse when you really stop and think about it. In order to qualify for compensation you must prove that you suffered serious illness at the most 2 weeks after you purchased the drug.

The above amount of money will be able to settle over 90% of Vioxx lawsuits with the exception of class action suits. Like I said, it could have been worse for Merck.
via Science Daily

Today kicks off National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. It runs September 10th through the 16th. What is an invisible chronic illness? If you have an illness and it can’t be seen from the outside, you have it. That would include diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, migraines, chronic back pain, eating disorders, multiple sclerosis and mental illness, just to name a few.Actually over 95% of chronic illness is invisible. Laura from CFS Squared sent me a link to a great website that is officially hosting an area to come together and “feel that there is someone else that gets it”. Go check out all that it offers including… articles, things to buy, chat rooms and a very funny “10 things not to say to a chronically ill person”.