The extraordinary gifts received from living with a chronic illness

As a mother, wife, daughter, and sister with a chronic illness, I endeavor to provide an alternate understanding of chronic illness. This study investigated my experiences living with a chronic illness. The study sought to answer a central research question: What are the extraordinary gifts I have received from living with a chronic illness? The study also examined factors that contributed to my positive outlook while living with a chronic illness, and how chronic illness can be reframed. By composing my narrative in chronological sequence, I have captured my experiences of living with a chronic illness. The findings of this study include 3 main themes: issues of identity, extraordinary gifts received, and tensions in understanding chronic illness. The theme of identity addresses how I progressed from desperately wanting to be fixed to reconciling my identity; extraordinary gifts include how I learned to love, continued to have hope, be mindful of my time, and live filled with gratitude; while tensions in understanding chronic illness represent both my fears and the inspiration for a renewed understanding of chronic illness and disability. The implications of this study encompass additional research of those with chronic illness and their families from a strength-based perspective, and the need for continued research that reframes chronic illness by providing an authentic account of what living with a chronic illness entails.