This week while listening to people call into the conferences of Invisible Illness Week, there was one common point I kept hearing over and over. People who have chronic illnesses especially those who have an invisible illness often feel misunderstood. So true! I can definitely relate to that.

When I was first diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis even my own family didn’t understand how I could be so sick when all they could see (sometimes) was� a droopy eyelid.� Finding the comfort of others who are like you and who can relate to you helps so much.

When I was practically bed bound I found a website for people with MG and joined right away. It felt so nice to “meet” other people that were living with the disease and could help me along with my new way of life. They gave me hope, especially when I was going in for major surgery.

I know of bloggers who are members of other types of forums that are geared toward their interests. It’s nice to know that there’s even a site that offers�Christian Chat Rooms for people who want to meet others with the same religious beliefs. I’ve also heard about sites for people who are caregivers and chat rooms for people looking to find love or just a date.� As a matter of fact there’s one person I know on Twitter who writes about finding love online all the time! I’ve even met some people who married people they met online.

Who knows what someone will think of next?

I did my presentation today for Invisible Illness Week. Of course I worked myself up into a tizzy before hand but it was so worthwhile doing this. My main purpose in doing this was to be able to provide information for people who have chronic illnesses. To have people call in and ask questions and then ask me questions after also was so inspiring. I pray that people really did get something out of it.

Lisa Copen chose to use Blog Talk Radio after I suggested this route to her instead of having everyone call into a teleconference. This saved people money who would have to call long distance. I found it quite funny that during my presentation on Blog Talk Radio there were advertisements there for Amazon books on how to blog.

Lisa is doing a fantastic job with all of these conferences. She is doing four calls per day. I don’t know how she is handling all of this. I was exhausted after doing my call. I know she is leaning on God and the prayers she’s receiving are working!

Keep tuning in and check out the archived calls too. Tomorrow’s last call Lisa will announce the winners of some of the prizes.

This is Invisible Illness Week, the time when those of us with a chronic illness can join together online for a conference. Instead of attending a live conference which I most likely couldn’t attend because of fatigue, pain and financial issues having a time together on Blog Talk Radio is just perfect. Lisa Copen who coordinates Rest Ministries, which is an online support group for people with chronic illnesses, also coordinates this conference.

I am honored to say that I have been chosen to be a speaker. I’ll be talking on “How to Get Paid To Blog” on Thursday, September 11 at 12 PM Pacific Time, 2PM Central Time or 3PM Eastern Time. For specifics please visit the schedule, share this information and tune in for to hear me and the other wonderful speakers.

Tomorrow I’ll be back to running the Chronic Illness Support Group at my church. The group starts at 11AM. We haven’t met all summer so it will be nice to see my friends again and get back into talking and learning about coping with our health issues.

I’m hoping to expand the group a little more. I’m going to talk to our Session about advertising in the local newspaper about it. This way it will be more available to people in our community. There isn’t another group like it that I know of. There are groups for specific conditions like Lupus and Fibromyalgia. This group covers everything that is considered a chronic illness.

A chronic illness means there is no cure and it usually is life long. So Diabetes, Arthritis and even Migraines fit this description. We have a woman with COPD and another with Narcolepsy.

Tomorrow is a big day for my group and it’s going to be exciting!