In December of last year (2019) I was interviewed for a podcast on living well with chronic illness, This is Not What I Ordered.

The host, Lauren Selfridge, is a licensed therapist in the Bay area of the USA with an interest in learning from and creating community with other people with chronic health issues.

You can listen here and I greatly recommend all of the episodes of the podcast. Lauren is a great host and there have been some wonderful guests with interesting insights on living well with ongoing physical challenges.

These are Lauren’s words about the episode:

In this episode, I’m joined by Andy McLellan, a haiku poet and trainee Zen priest living in Canterbury, UK. Nearly 25 years ago, when Andy was in the midst of obtaining his PhD, he began experiencing symptoms he assumed were associated with stress. Shortly after graduating, however, he came down with glandular fever and collapsed, never fully recovering.

Over the next 20 years, Andy would receive a diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and navigate an entirely new learning curve: how to organize his life in a way that would allow him to balance his chronic illness and start a family. 

Despite knowing the signs and symptoms and understanding that he would need to slow down and take care of himself, he experienced a drastic increase of his symptoms 4 years ago which has caused him to spend almost all of his time in bed.

Andy reflects on finding joy in the simple things: squirrels right outside his bedroom door, knitting, and writing beautiful haiku poetry. It’s evident throughout our chat that, even in the midst of so much challenge, Andy still leans in to his own sense of wonder and connectedness in the world. His belief is that fulfillment is only possible when we are in community with one another.

I felt a powerful connection to Andy, and we were both reminded just how impactful it can be to sit with people who just get it. As individuals navigating our chronic illnesses, we can connect with each other without having to over-explain, or judge. We just take these illnesses for what they are and support one another as we “climb the mountain” of chronic illness.

This conversation with Andy proved a testament to resilience. He is both an insightful and humorous guest, and I experienced him to be a beacon of wisdom on the power of human connection. I hope our conversation sparks some of your own sense of connectedness to yourself, your strength, and the people who walk with you on the path.