What is a Spoonie Buddy?
To answer that question, first you have to read "The Spoon Theory" by Christine Miserandino on her blog, ButYouDontLookSick.com:
https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/
In her story, Christine goes to a diner with her best friend, and while they were there her friend asked her how she deals with her chronic illness (Lupus) every day. She took a bunch of spoons and gave them to her friend, and asked her to think about all of the things she does during the day. She explained that each of those tasks would take up a spoon, and started going through tasks. Her friend started off with going to work, and Christine reminded her that first you have to get out of bed, take medications, take a shower, and get dressed, all of those would cost a spoon. Quickly her friend was running out of spoons before getting through all of the tasks of the day, and she began to understand.
People with chronic illnesses have to budget their energy, all of the time, every day. Spoonie Buddies are people with chronic illnesses who understand making those choices. It can be very frustrating having to cancel plans at the last minute because there are no spoons left. Chronic illnesses have a way of being very unpredictable. This doesn't mean that the person doesn't want to go out, or doesn't want to be invited. In fact, we usually are very hurt if we aren't included as we do want to be there for our friends and family. Sometimes, no matter how we budget our energy during the day, we end up with less spoons than the day before, and have to rest or face bigger consequences the next day for overdoing it.
This story has really helped me to explain this to others, and help them understand. A big thank you to all of my virtual spoonie buddies!
