Grace during suffering
Poignant sentiment from a friend and colleague diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a couple years ago:
I had hoped to be an angelic sick person: grateful for the good days, sore but smiling wearily on the bad days. Actually I’m just cranky and resentful on the bad days, and I have no idea why I ever thought I could manage grace during suffering.
Staying calm and optimistic when you’re in chronic pain is one of the hardest things there is. It’s probably easier to have a sense of humour about dying.