The last book that I wrote had a character that was diagnosed with gastroparesis, so I am going to explain how my mom having this disease has affected me.
There really is no easy answer to how it has affected me and my family. Finding out that my mom was sick was definitely one of the scariest things for me because I saw the pain she was in from morning until night. Some days she was laying on the bedroom floor crying with pain, and other days was my dad telling me that she had to go to the hospital. I honestly thought that my mom was going to die, and the fear of growing up without a mom by my side ached in my heart every day and every night.
This disease is mostly filled with negatives because it's just so horrible on the person who has it and their family members, but there are some positive things that I can pull from my mom having this disease. I tell her every now and then that I would be a different person if she didn't have this disease, but obviously in a positive way. It changed the way I look at life, but it has also changed me as a person. It changed into this young girl that cares and loves her mother, and she would literally do anything to take care of her.
If she was to never have this disease then my brother and I probably wouldn't be as close as we are now, because we lean on each other's shoulders whenever she's in the hospital. My brother and I might've changed, but my mom changed the most. She lets God lead her the way every day; even on the days that she can't move. She put aside all of the weaknesses when she was diagnosed with gastroparesis, and she pulled out all of the hidden strength that I didn't know she had.
Gastroparesis is a painful and challenging disease to go through as a patient, but also as a family member. It was never easy watching my mom stay in the hospital for days or even weeks, but I am so proud of her for not giving up. This disease will do anything to bring you down, but you just have to keep on living life and pray, because after all, this disease has no cure.