Everything Under the Sun

Black holes are invisible to the naked eye. They can only be detected by their event horizon or their proximal distortion of reality. In that way they are the perfect analogy to chronic illness. Much of chronic illness is internal reality, invisible to the world, only partially realizable by external indicators. For as long as I can remember, I've battled the gravitational pull of my disease - desperately trying not to fall too close and slip into the abyss.  Irritable bowel syndrome, characterized by twin siblings, Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis, is a massive, powerful, black hole of unknown depth and intensity. Like a blackhole, it is phagocytic. It sucks my lifestyle in. It sucks my relationships in. It sucks my family and friends in. It sucks my emotions in. It sucks my body in. It grows larger every day, and it has inevitable consequences. It is a tiring and inescapable continuum. But it is not a futile one. The struggle and strife of a two decade long battle is unquantifiable....