Chronic Illness In Review
Nick and Soso held the table on their own this week, with Steph and Beth out, and opened with a line that set the tone: every week is a week right now. Nick admitted he has been quieter lately, worn down by illness moving through his extended family at the same time. Soso came in rested for once, after a new treatment finally gave her a full night’s sleep and the energy to host family for a birthday dinner. From there the conversation moved from weather and mobility to a veteran-led welcome home for sailors and Marines, and on to what it costs service members to refuse a war. The thread tying it together is the one this show always comes back to: you pace yourself, and you do not do it alone.
Nick named the drain that comes with caring for sick family while living with chronic illness yourself. One person being sick is manageable, he said, but three or four at once takes a mental toll he does not always handle well. Soso pointed out how hard it is to find any space that is not about medical talk when illness fills both your own life and your family’s. Nick kept the details vague to protect family privacy, and he treated rest as part of the plan rather than a failure: after a full day with family, they took the next day to do nothing and recover. That is pacing in practice, and this episode shows it without apology.
A tangent about false fall turned into a real conversation about ice, age, and mobility. Nick and Soso both noted winters bringing more ice and less snow, and Soso stressed how dangerous that is for anyone with a mobility limitation, from her cousin who uses a wheelchair to her grandmother who broke her hip in a fall. Audience member Courtney stole the segment with her homemade shoe spikes of duct tape and screws for her stepdad, which Nick called the most millennial thing he has ever heard. Nick also explained why his family moved closer to relatives and flatter ground: when you are older and you fall, you need people nearby. Soso added the worry of having aging family far away, and both landed on the value of having several generations close to each other.
Nick then promoted Valor Media Network’s welcome home mission for the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, and played a video from Valor president Christopher Goldsmith. The goal is care packages for at least 1,000 service members, with a focus on junior single sailors and Marines who will not have family waiting at the dock. Nick listed what goes in them: hygiene, menstrual, and sexual health products, gift cards for a first meal home, a copy of War Is a Racket, voter registration information, and guidance on how to tell their stories safely and legally. His point is that service members are not the ones who make policy, and they need to know the public sees them as people. Donations go through valormedianetwork.com, and Nick says they are tax-deductible.
The back half turned to conscientious objection. Nick argued that service members can lawfully object to deployment in a war of choice. He cited an article he had seen, without naming the outlet, reporting a record number of objectors. He did not soften the cost: objecting usually ends a career, taking with it a steady income, health insurance, housing allowance, and education benefits. “If you’re unwilling to give up your own career, don’t ask other people to do it,” he said. Soso brought a Canadian view, separating ordinary Americans from the people in power, and Nick framed international pressure, including a reported UN review of U.S. boat strikes, as proof that Americans pushing back are not alone.
Soso brought it back to the chronically ill community: staying involved while your body sets the limits means learning to protect your baseline. “Just rest or just put it in a little drawer and take care of your body first,” she said, and then come back when you have capacity. The show closed with Beth’s guided meditation, Take a Hike, a slow walk through a misty forest that gave everyone room to breathe. Nick ended with a call for more disability and chronic illness community, and for everyone to keep showing up as themselves. We’re done being sick of this shit here, he said. Now we’re doing this shit.
Sources & References
* Valor Media Network (welcome home mission for USS Abraham Lincoln sailors and Marines, as described on the show)
* War Is a Racket, by Smedley D. Butler (Nick noted Christopher Goldsmith helped write the foreword; no link given on the show)
Actions You Can Take
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Join the efforts to unmask law enforcement and de-flock the States:
* deflock.me
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* Orders Project
* Reach out on Signal: @TheOrdersProject.76
Learn empathy forward, human centered, experiment based Leadership & Growth Courses for Higher Ed & Non-Profit Professionals:
* B. Cognition Labs
Nick’s Notes
I’m Nick Paro, and I’m sick of the shit going on. So, I’m using poetry, podcasting, and lives to discuss the intersections of chronic illness and mental wellbeing, masculinity, veteran’s issues, politics, and so much more. I am only able to have these conversations, bring visibility to my communities, and fill the void through your support — this is a publication where engagement is encouraged, creativity is a cornerstone, and transparency is key — please consider becoming a paid subscriber today and grow the community!
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Thank you Amelia Hall, MSW, CPACC, Jai Porter 🇨🇦, Brad, Portable Vibes, Noble Blend, and many others for tuning into my live video with Soso's World! Join me for my next live video in the app.
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