According to the National Cancer Institute, chronic illness is “an illness or condition that usually lasts 3 months or more and may worsen over time. Chronic illnesses tend to occur in older people and can usually be controlled but not cured. The most common types of chronic diseases are cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis” (National Cancer Institute). On the surface, this may seem like a brief summary, but from someone reading it personally, the definition could be explained with pages and pages. You suffer from a chronic illness. The phrase you never wanted to hear. The phrase you thought you'd never hear. People hear about “chronic illness” and think: It’s a condition you’re stuck with for life. But it's not just an illness that lives in the depths of your life. It's not just something you'll accept. It's not just something you learn to live with. If only they knew the whole story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayChronic illness has a different definition for each person. Every person has a different story linked to them. Over the years, I have come to a summary conclusion about what chronic illness means to me. This is when hospitals become my second home, and in some parts of my life, my first home. This means doctor appointments will be a regular part of your schedule, indefinitely. This means quickly learning to bring your own pillow for long-term hospital stays. Scientific tests are becoming commonplace and x-rays are no different than a simple snapshot taken by your camera. Having blood drawn from your veins becomes just another task to check off the list, like doing your grocery shopping. This means not having money saved for a rainy day, because rainy weather is our world's climate all year round. Even if there is no storm, it still rains lightly. A chronic illness is pain confined within your body. It begins to spread under your skin where no one can see it, and by the time it reaches the surface of your skin to the point of "looking sick", it has often come to a head in life-threatening situations. Chronic illness is the concept of knowing it exists. is not a cure. No cure means no hope. It's a tragic situation. People hope you feel better soon, they say, take plenty of rest. The irony is that no amount of sleep will solve this problem. It's like a cheap phone charger. You use it hoping to have a full battery, but you wake up with only 60% charge. You try plugging it back in but you never know how much extra battery you'll get. You accept everything you have and learn to deal with it. Chronic illness doesn't get better, it only gets worse. We need to stop telling people who are going through this to get over it. This is something that has changed your whole life, you have the right to fight against it. You do not need to prove your illness to anyone. As I entered the cardiologist's main office, I could feel my hands freezing with softness. I sat down and the doctor started talking. He got straight to the point, which I didn't expect. “You suffer from arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, you will need to stop playing sports immediately and undergo.