When you are always sick you don't, you can't, live without others. Without them, you die--in more ways than one. Being ill over a long time is a lonely business. We become alienated from others by our needs and discomforts. Boredom and deep resentment settles in and around those who suffer and their companions. If the chronically ill have a dominant concern, it is the incessant yearning for intimacy. We need at least one person to share our pain, to remain objective, to listen to our voice, to be a "mainstay" for us.
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