My best friend has CVID, Common variable immunodeficiency. I've learned a lot about this disease in the last year or so that I never even knew existed before she was diagnosed. And that's kind of the thing, unless you are directly affected by it most people don't even know this disease exists.
I have done a few seasons with Team in Training and I think the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a great cause which I have no problem fundrasing for, but everyone knows about cancer and Leukemia. Anytime I mention my best friend and her disease, I have to explain it. It's not AIDs, but it is an immune deficiency, and it's not an STD or something she caused. At least with a disease like cancer, all you have to do is say cancer and people sort of get it. With CVID or Cystic Fibrosis (which my son has), it takes an explanation of the disease before people start to understand. I often go out in public with her and she wears a surgical mask to help protect her from germs. She is always getting looks from people. They just don't understand. She's not SARS paranoid or just a germaphobe, a simple cold to someone else can be so much more serious for her.
I admit when I first met her I thought she was a hypochondriac. How could you not? She was always sick with something. Even doctors told her, that her illnesses are her imagination, or due to anxiety. But if you spend time with her. You start to see. When she was really sick, she looked really weak and sometimes could barely talk for long periods. Most recently she has been feeling better. She has looked healthier and happier than I think most of the time I've known her. This is due to being diagnosed, and getting treatment.
This is a very difficult disease. It's not easily explained and certainly not easily treated. But my best friend inspires me. She is generally a happy person. She has made the best of a bad situation. It would be so easy to crawl in a hole, but she fights. She is one of the strongest people I know.
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