My Chronic Illness Has Shiny Bugs And Hidden Easter Eggs

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 (And I Might Be One of Them)




Living with a chronic illness is a lot like playing a video game…


except it’s one you didn’t sign up for, the tutorial was skipped, and every level comes with a new bug (some shiny, some chaotic) that the developers never quite fixed.



And guess what?


I’m still somehow the main character.


Welcome to the Glitchiest Game Ever: My Body


My body is basically running on a patchy software update from 2009.


Some days it functions like a decent secondhand laptop—slow, but at least it turns on.


Other days, it’s like, “Let’s spice things up by randomly deleting all your energy and adding joint pain just because it’s Tuesday.”


Fatigue? 

Brain fog? 


That one elbow that randomly decides to scream in Morse code? 


Honestly, if I were a computer program, my developers would’ve rage-quit.


 The Shiny Bugs


Yes, you heard me: shiny bugs.


Not all glitches are ugly. Some are weirdly fun (or at least entertaining). For example:


That moment I forget what I was saying mid-sentence, so I just say “Never mind” and act mysterious like I’m in a spy movie.


When I wake up and have no idea what year it is for a full 30 seconds, like I just time-traveled.


Or when my knee makes a sound like a door creaking open, and I name it “Gerald” for the rest of the day.


Shiny bugs = the weird little things that go wrong but give me character development.


 The Easter Eggs


Living with chronic illness also comes with hidden moments of clarity—my little Easter eggs.


A perfectly timed meme from a friend who gets it.


That one good pain-free hour where I dance in my kitchen (which is technically just swaying to Taylor Swift in socks).


The art of a really satisfying nap.


Discovering that warm tea + a heating pad = the closest thing I’ve had to a spa day since 2017.


These Easter eggs are scattered all throughout the chaos. You just have to look carefully (and maybe squint through the brain fog).


 Plot Twists & Side Quests


Sometimes I’ll go to bed feeling fine and wake up feeling like I got trampled by emotional llamas.


Other times I’ll feel terrible, cancel everything, and then miraculously feel okay enough to organize a drawer just to prove to myself that I can still contribute to society.



And then there’s the side quest:


“Try to explain your symptoms to a new doctor without sounding like you’re either:


Making it up

Being dramatic

Submitting your audition tape for a medical mystery show”


Spoiler alert: I’m terrible at that side quest.

 The Main Character Energy!


The truth is: chronic illness doesn’t make you weak.


It makes you creative, sarcastic, emotionally fluent in memes, and wildly resourceful.


I’ve become:


A master of managing pain with 12 pillows and one passive-aggressive heating pad named Bestie


A ninja at saying “I’m fine” when I actually mean “I’m hanging on with glitter glue and caffeine”


A resilient, hilarious human with a surprisingly good playlist



So yeah. My life may be full of shiny bugs and unwanted system errors, but I’m still here.


Showing up. Glitching fabulously. Dancing awkwardly.


Final Boss? I’m Still Playing.


I might be tired. I might hurt. I might forget why I walked into the kitchen 3 times a day.


But I’ve also got layers. Humor. Grit.


And a secret stash of edibles that may or may not count as medicine.



So if you’re living with a chronic illness and feel like a broken video game character…


You’re not alone.


You’re just a rare, limited-edition version.


Complete with shiny bugs, weird plot twists, and hidden Easter eggs.


And honestly? That’s kind of legendary.


Now if you’ll excuse me, Gerald the knee wants a snack, and I need to go find my heating pad (Bestie).



Glitch Queen & Chronic Illness Warrior

https://x.com/FlareflourishF 

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