I was diagnosed with a chronic digestive disease at 2 years old. Fast forward 13 years, I met my boyfriend at 15. I was really ill during high school and ended up having to be home schooled. This did not run my boyfriend away, even though he was a 17 year old boy that definitely could have found a "better" situation. My health was in its best condition from 18 to 23 years old (I am almost 24 now). We were saving to buy a house in 2022. We had so many goals. My digestive disease (or something else, we still aren't sure) came back, and came back much, much worse. Everything I had worked so hard for was taken from me one by one. I lost my job, the most fun and safe place I have ever experienced. I've lost 40 pounds and was left as only a piece of myself.
My boyfriends advice to you? Stay.
Stay. Hold their hair, wipe their face. Get them that glass of water. Help them in the shower. Make them the smoothie.
2022 showed us how fragile life can be. Nothing is promised. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. Your partners value doesn't decrease if they can't do everything they could before. If anything, it will probably make you value them even more, you'll notice their "wins", their accomplishments, even if small. Every day with them is a gift.
My boyfriend and I have been together for 8 years. We grew up together. He told me that watching me figure this all out, with not much help from doctors (months in between tests), has made him admire me 100x more. Nothing is certain, nothing is forever, even the bad times. Stay with them through it. Be their rock. Love them anyway. This is not something we chose, it is something that happened to us. But it does not define our worth. Stay.
This is so heartwarming. Thank you so much for sharing. <3 I hope more people listen to your boyfriend's advice when they are in a similar situation in their lives.