Eunice, that’s a good reminder that some people do like to hear about treatments. It’s probably safest to ask the person first, as many with chronic pain don’t want to hear about another miracle cure that “just has to work.”

Otherwise, great suggestions – thanks!

Lisa
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An example email may be,
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“Hi, gals! Hope you all are doing well. I just read this article on a blog that I read called, “How to Cope with Pain.” As most of you know, I live with (your illness here.) I know sometimes I’m not able to be quite as spontaneous as I’d like to be, and I’ve missed a few play dates because I’m not feeling well. I don’t want my illness to be a big deal or get any special attention, but I just love you all so much, I also don’t want you to ever think I’m using my illness as an excuse to not do something. For me, it’s just a part of life. Not always fun, but I’m hanging in there.

Anyway, I saw this article called “8 Ways To Encourage Your Fellow Playgroup-Moms Who Have Chronic Illness” and thought it was great at explaining some of the things I experience. Please don’t feel like you have to change your schedule or accommodate the whole group to meet my needs, but I thought it might explain why some days when you say, “Let’s just walk to the park,” I look at you like, “You’ve got to be joking, right?”

Plus, I figure within our circle, you probably know a lot of other people who also live with illness. I was surprised to hear that about 1 in 2 people in the US live with some kind of chronic illness or chronic pain. (There’s actually an Invisible Illness Week in September that has these statistics on their web site. Who would have thought? If you’re interested, it’s http://www.invisibleillness.com).

So I’m thinking this may be helpful if you have a sister or other friend or someone who lives with illness. Feel free to forward the article on.

Thanks again for being so special to me! Our play dates help me keep my sanity!”

(copy article here or link)