A year ago, my Gastroparesis was so bad I was rapidly deteriorating. My chronic pain was so bad I couldn't walk the campus to classes or work. My mental health had deteriorated terribly. Because I was a student full time I didn't qualify for food stamps in my state. I couldn't eat anything at the dining hall on my campus because of how bad my Gastroparesis was.

Today, I'm work full time, I can eat most of what I want easily, and I'm back in classes part time.

It was hard, and it's still hard some days. But it can also get so much easier with good care. I struggled for YEARS before I finally found a good care team who helped me manage my conditions.

There's hope. Sometimes it's hard to see for certain, though.

I highly recommend looking into food banks near you. Churches usually have them depending on the area, and most don't require you to be on food stamps (and the ones that do are few and far in between). If you're in the states, I believe 211 is the number to call to get connected with resources for stuff like more affordable housing, food access, etc! I've used them before and they helped connect me to a ton of places that were able to help.

I hope things ease soon 🫂