She stands there with opened eyes
Forgotten memories, stolen by time
At first she speaks softly,
Her words never heard.
Then she yells FIRMLY
Still not one head turned.
She picks up her hands
Trying to stop the rain.
Her efforts grow weary,
her work is in vain.
She stops for a moment, she’s at it again.
She won’t underestimate her power within.
She yells out much louder,
much unlike before!
What once was a whisper,
Is now a LOUD ROAR!!!!
She picks up the pieces of her broken down dreams,
Sewing each piece together, all ripped at the seams.
She looks at herself, she’s looking for HOPE
With trembling hands she grabs for the rope
Leaving all FEARS behind, for now she’s AWAKE
I promised her FREEDOM no illness will TAKE!!!!
(written by me Mari Garcia-Ramirez )

When I wrote this piece I was stuck in limbo of who I had become due to being chronically ill, and the person I knew I could become. I was sitting quietly in our hotel room waiting one night waiting for the next morning’s doctor’s appointment, when all of a sudden these words came flooding through my mind. I had nothing to write on and I’m pretty old school, so I wanted pen and paper. I look through the hotel room like a crazy person and find a La Quinta pen and writing tablet. Finally, the words just flowed right on to that tiny piece of paper. Words that were, well… SIMPLY ME.

About the Author: Mari is a mom living with multiple chronic illness, including POTS and Fibromyalgia. She’s passionate about spreading awareness of Dysautonomia and encouraging other patients in their journeys. Check out  and like her Facebook page Chronically Fallrisk and keep an eye out for her genuine, passionate articles here on Patient Worthy!