HAWMC Day 13: Things I Cannot Live Without

Today’s prompt is 10  9 things that you cannot live without. I’m going to leave the obvious of my faith and my family so I can share some fun gadgets that make life with chronic illness a little better. These are in no particular order.

 

1: My TENS unit. It goes pretty much everywhere with me these days inside my handbag.

2: My heated snuggie. Seriously one of my favorite things, even with the weather getting warmer. One night the week it was actually fairly hot outside but I knew my joints needed the heat so I cranked up 2 fans in the bedroom so I could tolerate the heat without melting! Desperate times call for desperate measures.

3: Dry Shampoo. Amazing invention. Maybe even more amazing than my TENS unit. Its a close one. It is a great product for your surgery survival kit but also for days when you need to look presentable but don’t have the spoons to go through the washing, conditioning, blowdrying, etc.

4: Coke. Its a really bad habit I know and I’ve tried 18612984 times to stop drinking it but when my nausea is at its peak it is about the only thing I tolerate (especially when its in a glass bottle).

5: Cereal. My husband has decided that something is majorly wrong with me because if needed I think I could totally live off cereal. Since my gastroparesis started, its one meal I can eat that doesn’t me feel absolutely miserable after eating it (instead is just makes me feel a little miserable).

6: NCIS. I own all 8 seasons and don’t you bet that I’ll be pre-ordering season 9 as soon as the season is over although I feel like the story line is in a bit of a slump the last few episodes so hopefully it will get better (I do not like Dr. Ryan w/ Gibbs – seems hinky). My husband always asked why I watch it so much and honestly most of the time its just background noise when I’m resting. He could survive with ESPN playing in the background all day. For me, its NCIS.

7: Twitter. Some days its the support and encouragement from my twitter friends that keeps me from going over the edge. Now more than ever I feel like I’ve got a community of warriors fighting alongside me.

8: My tablet. When it comes to writing out full posts, I like to use my laptop but when I’m trying to relax and browse pinterest or twitter, its nice to have on hand its a lot less bulky than a laptop sitting on your lap.

1. Drive-thru pharmacies. I know this just proves how small a town I live in but seriously we just got a new CVS with a drive-thru! Its a wonderful, beautiful thing!

So these are 9 things that I have found helpful in fighting the daily fight against chronic illness. What items/gadgets would you add to the list?