Today, for the first time in weeks, I think I might live.

No, wait…

Even better… I think I might want to!

I had no idea just how bad pneumococcal pneumonia could be, how it strips you of energy and leaves you gasping for a breath… gawd, just one, please!… and how your body aches and your ribs bruise from the violence of the coughing jags.

Sleep? What’s that?

Then there’s the fix—the cure and the curse of antibiotics and prednisone that made me feel like Wonder Woman at the same time it played my weakened immune system false. The pred took away all the RA pain and swelling. I could move like a normal person, no longer counting myself lucky to have simply gotten out of bed.

But then, the dosage tapered, the symptoms returned. Not just returned… but boomeranged with vicious enthusiasm, trapping me once more in the consequences of having suffered through several bouts with Lyme disease.

I’ll be honest, it’s depressing.

But last night, ah… last night I slept through the night, cough-free, huddled under blankets as the temp dipped into the upper forties. And this morning—this lovely gorgeous, bright day filled with sunshine—gives me hope once more.

I’m one of those people with a disability you can’t see… unless I move, or you take note of the joints on my right hand, or I let slip I’m in pain.

But today is a GOOD DAY! I’ll take it and run with it. Well, maybe I’ll hobble with enthusiasm, but little victories are still victories after all.

To all of you out there with these invisible illnesses, blessings and love.