I don't know about you but I grew up in a rough neighborhood. It was rural Prunedale, California. Our school and playground got scrappy. I don't remember any of my friends asking me how I felt. We just ran as fast as we could to the wall ball area so we could be first in line to hit the ball against the wall. There were special acolytes one of us bounced the ball on the roof. That was ALWAYS the goal.
Now I have the most embarrassing condition one can imagine, a broken bladder and bowel. Because of my playground days,
I learned these important lessons.
- If I fell on the playground and my mouth bled, few noticed unless I screamed loud. This blog is my scream-loud tactic.
- Even if kids saw my scabby lip, they didn't care. Now I keep quiet about my medical condition unless someone shows interest.
- If a kid tried to push me and I could get away with it, I pushed back. Now think about this folks, writing a book about personal bowel and bladder dysfunction is a set up for a big put down by the prim and proper folks. This blog and the book are my written push back attempts. WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS!
- My friends did not care until I gave them a reason to care. When my friend Adrian and I ran for Sargent-at-Arms, we won because candy helped. This blog and the book I wrote is your gift from me, like the candy, and hopefully your gift to others as well.
- To get a friend, you need to be a friend. Friends pass the day very well indeed
- Scabbed lips make good school pictures. I am forever grateful that I had a mom who celebrated my imperfections. I grew up to not run away from the painful.
- It does not pay to lie, you get caught anyway. I had to decide early on to whom I was writing. Patients are my target audience. Sometimes I write about things that perhaps the medical profession would not like. That is ok because I am a single person and this blog is a voice of a patient, not a "paid to sell" or a tactic to sway you a way, I would not go myself.
- When I bragged few cared. But if I was real, I was showed empathy. This one needs no explanation.
- If a kid is stinky, the bullying satisfaction only lasts a short time. Bullies grow up to have problems of their own.
- It made no sense to try to please the popular girl because she was not my friend anyway. Do you know the most popular nonfiction books are cook books? I hate to cook. Right now, you are my friends because we are interested in this topic. I feel fulfilled doing this, popular or not.
