painfully honest terms. On those
the bra fitter. I sent it to my
days,
friend and we both laughed about
anxiety and a profound feeling
my grumpy gremlin.
of
Anthropomorphising my illness in this way allows me to take ownership
of
my
condition
and
poke fun at it on my own terms. Having
seen
the
state
of
my
camera, I much prefer the image of my gremlin stomping his feet and cackling to himself than the reality of what’s going on in there. Considering I have to talk about my health with my doctors
experience
hopelessness
43
terrible
that
things
will continue to get worse and adversely affect my future. But then I feel a sharp pain in my stomach and imagine the gremlin’s annoyance at being ignored, and I chuckle to myself. Living with a chronic illness can make me feel weak and powerless, so whatever I can do to take some of that power back is worth doing, even if it means imagining there’s a little monster living inside me.
in strictly medical terms, it’s a relief to be able to discuss it in a more humorous way with my friends and family. Telling them that the gremlin is practising his drumming is much easier and more
light-hearted
than
saying
that my stomach is very painful. There
are
some
days
when
I
don’t feel able to make light of the situation and find myself discussing my health in stark,
JO MARIJOBANKS is an editor and writer who lives in West Lothian with her gremlin and a growing collection of Star Trek memorabilia. Her short story, ‘What Remains’, was featured in the Almond Press anthology, Apocalypse Chronicles. You can find her tweeting about books, writing, mental health and random geeky things. @JoMarjoribanks.
“...IT’S A RELIEF TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS IT IN A MORE HUMOROUS WAY WITH MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY.”
THERE’S A GREMLIN IN MY STOMACH BY JO MARJORIBANKS
digestive system via an endoscope
I
MARBLES MAGAZINE,
✂ TEAR HERE
of curious onlookers and Janet