Spoons

Leonor is 22, from Portugal, and has lived in the Netherlands for four years. She is bright, bubbly and outspoken, and often wears colorful eye make-up. When she was nineteen, she fell from the stairs and broke her back. This led to her being diagnosed with osteoporosis, a disease that makes the bones very fragile and easy to break. It is a chronic illness: one that can be managed, but not healedhttps://www.nhs.uk/conditions/osteoporosis/ Along with her disease, she has chronic back pain. Both these things affect her life in significant ways.

‘I can’t cycle, for example. Walking up the stairs is very dangerous for me. I have to avoid lifting things. I can’t travel as much, can’t go out as much.’ She also takes painkillers and ‘shocks’ herself a few times a day with electrolytes to help with the pain. Inside her home, she has a lot of pillows and two mattresses to stay as comfortable as possible.

There is this theory called ‘spoon theory’, to demonstrate how people live with chronic illnesses.https://health.clevelandclinic.org/spoon-theory-chronic-illness/A healthy person wakes up with unlimited spoons, but a person with a chronic illness wakes up with a limited amount of spoons, representing the amount of energy and ability they have for the day. ‘Normal’ tasks such as cleaning and day-to-day living take up these spoons, and so these spoons have to be balanced throughout the day.

’Balance is very important in my life. It’s a constant struggle to manage my energy and to see what I can and can’t do. I may want to see my friends, but it’s bad for my physical health.’