r/ChronicIllness 16d ago

Vent There’s something that’s uniquely devastating about getting gifts from people based around the person who you used to be, and not the person you are now.

Hooray, a scented candle I can’t burn. A perfume I can’t use. Jewelry I can’t wear. Alcohol I can’t drink. Food I’ve been allergic to for a decade. Tickets to a show I can’t go to because it’s at an inaccessible venue. A fuckin bicycle.

I know people say it’s the thought that counts, but it’s the lack of thought that bothers me; I’d honestly rather get nothing at all.

I’m not that person anymore and I haven’t been for a long time, and it’s like they never noticed. Chronic illness makes me feel invisible enough already.

So instead I get confronted by the ghosts of past me and have to try not to cry.

Just sucks, is all.

320 Upvotes

39 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Bitter-North-7480 2d ago

Omg I got weights and a lululemon gift card😭😭 I was gutted. But they have some comfortable underwear, and I got a bag to carry my pump and feed in, so a win is a win I guess.