GP is sitting in the bathroom puking your guts out. GP is going out to dinner and just ordering a drink. GP is spending holidays in the hospital. GP is falling asleep on the bathroom floor puking. GP is my worst enemy. GP is not being able to eat your own birthday cake. GP is the reason I look six months pregnant after eating. GP is the reason I sit at the dinner table hooked up to an IV pole watching my family eat dinner. GP is starving to eat but you can't. GP is why I have a hospital in my house. GP is starving to death. GP is trips to the emergency room at three in the morning. GP is why I lost my best friend. GP is constant nausea, tears, and pain. GP is like having the flu everyday of your life. GP is not being able to sleep because the pain is so bad. GP is the devil that stole my body. GP is having the simplest action taken away from you. GP is the reason the words "have you lost weight? You look so good!" aren't appealing anymore. GP is the reason I'm getting a treatment that is helping me survive but the complications will kill me. GP is putting your life on pause because you are simply trying to consume food. GP is slowly killing me.
Gastroparesis is more than just a paralyzed stomach. Gastroparesis has broken me, hurt me, tore me down, and made me feel so many emotions I don't ever want to feel.
Think this is too harsh? Think again.
This is the reality of thousands all over the world who are fighting for a normal life.
GP is a battle that's effected my life in many negative ways but also positive. GP is making me stronger. GP is the reason I'm closer to my family than I've ever been. GP is the reason I've learned the real meaning behind "in sickness and in health" GP is why I want to be a nurse. GP is a challenge that's given me strength and courage. GP is tough but, I am tougher. GP is why my fiancé and I have dates next to the toilet. GP is being able to see life through a new perspective. GP is why I've met so many brave warriors. GP is what makes me weak but therefore I am strong.
These are the quotes of the many living with Gastroparesis who deserve a cure more than anything.
*Thank you to my GP sisters for allowing me to use their life experiences to write this.*
