I was in Physical Therapy for the fourth time in about 18 months. I’d have pain in my hip, then my knee and ankle, my back, etc. I’d end up either unable to finish or finish PT without improvement. It was getting to be quite annoying to me.

This time the Physical Therapist I met with looked over my chart very well. He did a good examination and asked me a lot of questions. When I told him about my frustration with the whole process he looked directly in my eyes and said that he understood. He explained that it was going to be difficult to learn the best way to treat me, but that was what he and his team were gong to do.

I felt a bit more at ease after that first day. When I met with my Therapy Aide, she knew she couldn’t use heat because of the Myasthenia Gravis. Heat would weaken my muscles. She knew to not do repetitive movements for the same reason. They were paying attention to my needs and I was pleased.

As I got to know the Physical Therapist who saw me every two weeks, we were able to joke around as he determined if the therapy was helping me or not. One day he told me that I was a “Fruit Salad”. What? He explained that when someone has multiple chronic illnesses it makes diagnosis of what causes pain and how to treat it complicated.

We had a good laugh over his description. I knew he wasn’t being demeaning. As a matter of fact I liked what he said. It explains a lot of things about me and I believe other people like me. When we have more than one one chronic illness our symptoms can overlap. We, as well as our doctors and other medical personnel can have trouble determining what illness is causing what problem on what day.

It’s a puzzle at times. It can be aggravating and frustrating. But we can choose to take it in stride. We can work with our doctors, have a positive outlook and even laugh about it. Fruit salad anyone?