Hillenbrand

            Like many of the other stories that we have heard about so far, this is another case where the victim of the story did nothing wrong and that their illness just happened by chance. Laura Hillenbrand was an average teenager like others and myself around me. Throughout her story she tells of how she first became ill when the symptoms were bearable moving on to tell how devastating the ailment became. Before Chronic Fatigue Syndrome struck her down it seemed that she had everything, friends, boyfriend, and college to look forward to. As her sickness grew stronger and she grew weaker this things began to fade away. In the beginning of sickness she tells how she would dream to get away about better times when she was an athlete and could do everything. After seeing doctor and doctor that diagnosed her with her being depressed and other misdiagnosis, she began to become ashamed, depressed, and lonely. She stopped dreaming happy dreams at one point and started to dreams of being ill. She began to lose hope and started to lose her battle with this unrecognizable yet harsh disease. She began to put all of her energy and efforts into her writing. She was tired of being stagnant so she decided she would move and change things up around her. She talked of the smells of the supermarket and the feeling of running her hands through grain. This caught my attention. These are everyday things that most people including myself take for granted. Sometimes you just don't notice the simple things in life until they are gone. Much like the story of multiple sclerosis, a disease totally engulfs you, leaving you feeling robbed and weak. This is just sad and scary that this happens to people. I personally didn't even know CFS existed. Throughout this story I also felt a little bad for Borden. He spent his whole life with her and also in pain. This just goes to show how a disease as traumatic as this not only affects the one with the illness but also others that are close to you.