Sep 05 2008
National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week
Three years ago as a freshman in college, I participated in a small group called HopeKeepers at the church by my house. The group was composed only of people currently dealing with chronic illness and pain. I got a lot out of the group as I was finally able to interact with people who truly understood what it was like to be in constant pain day in and day out. Unfortunately, I started getting really involved with groups on campus and I didn’t have the time to make a 30 minute commute each way to attend the meetings every week. However, I continue to follow the overall Rest Ministries organization, which is what HopeKeepers fits under, and receive daily devotionals encouraging Christians with chronic pain and illness.
Anyways, the founder of Hopekeepers, Lisa Copen, started National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week in 2002. It is a week-long event with online seminars since many people with chronic pain and illnesses would have a hard time attending this conference whether it’s a physical or financial problem. Since these seminars are online, you do not have to listen in live. You will also be able to listen to them later (like a podcast). These seminars have been created so that everyone (Christian or non-Christian) can benefit from the week. Just one seminar discusses illness and faith.
Next week (September 8-12th), there will be 20 online seminars ranging in topics from “Assess Yourself: Finding a Job You Desire and Can Do Despite Illness Limitations” to “Stress-busters that Work” to “Secrets of Paying for Medical Care.” There are two seminars that stood out to me as a young person dealing with chronic pain: “Friendships, Dating, and Marriage: Can It All Come Together When You Are You and Chronically Ill” and “College with Chronic Illness: How To Get Help and Respect from Administrators and Faculty.”
There are a lot of really interesting seminars I hope to listen to. I’m not sure how many I’ll be able to listen to live, but I certainly will listen in sometime within the next two weeks. If you want any more information about the online conference, please visit their website!