Hi, I’m Carolyn and My Chronic Library is a personal blog detailing my life and learnings of living with MS, my experience undergoing and recovering from HSCT, my opinions and recommendations for navigating healthcare in the U.S., and all things reading and books.
I endeavor to provide lessons for the chronically ill and impossibly curious. I’m navigating disability in an ableist world and trying to make an impact by helping others through education and advocacy.
I’m a voracious reader, avid traveler, and singer of show tunes.
Read about my former self as well as my thoughts on releasing body shame and comparison in health.
LATEST POSTS
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2023 Reading Recap (really really late)
My safety net has and will always be books. So even though I haven’t published reading recaps in quite some time, I’ve had many a one-off conversation about recommendations. I will always come back to books. They are my home. They are safety. They are comfort. And when I can’t write, I will read.
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Accessibility For All – put it on the website
Yesterday was an amazing day because after almost eight months of work, Cleveland Clinic published a one-stop-shop for accessibility resources and accessing care at our locations. Don’t presume — specifically in healthcare — that you know what anyone is going through.
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The Disability Tax
There is a disability tax that without invite, attaches to all aspects of your life. People don’t talk about this and probably, unless forced, don’t think about it either. I know I didn’t! There is a loss of personal agency and choice.
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From OR to AND: A New Place in Healing
I think the medical advice of “year-long recovery” for HSCT is a misnomer. But there is progress and there are things happening that matter to me. I am recovering more quickly, I am lasting longer, my endurance has improved.
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Reflections on an Unexpected Year
I am letting go of anger. I release the illusion of control. I revel in possibility and the unknown, and I am learning to hold both joy and sadness, acceptance and striving for more, contentment and wanderlust — simultaneously. I am loved. I am safe. I am enough.
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Speak Up: It’s pay day
A $10,000 refund doesn’t come along every day so today, I’m going to rejoice in this moment, take a calming breath, and appreciate that the outcome was worth the effort.
DON’T MISS OUT ON MY MUSINGS!
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My Chronic Library 