From Dr. Julie Gurner:

"I think that there are two ways of looking at things that have happened to you. You can be a victim or you can be a survivor. Those are two very different cognitive positions. You can’t control what happens to you in either circumstance, but one is very powerful. You have overcome."

GERD happened to me, and for some time, I felt helpless, and I still do.

I feel trapped in this body that I want to replace.

My soul wants to do things that my body cannot.

I see myself as a victim, like getting caught in a deadly accident on a normal Sunday, and forever not like yourself ever since.

It's time I reframe that experience.

To tell a different story, to rewrite the narrative that I play over and over in my head.

To rewrite it to survivorship and (the process of) overcoming it, and what it takes.

I need to realize the things I sacrificed, the naivety I lost, the wisdom I gained, the bitterness I swallowed, the pain I endured to be the person I am today.

I need to tell myself I am a survivor, and that every new day is my surviving and thriving given the circumstances.

I am not a victim, I'm a survivor.