#prompt: chronic illness

[leneemusing]

MEDICAL THEMED PROMPTS ( pt. 1 )

THE PHYSICIAN / NURSE

❝ i know this hurts but i need you to breathe, we're almost done. ❞

❝ can you open your eyes for me? ❞

❝ how long have you been experiencing those symptoms? ❞

❝ i can't help you unless you tell me the truth. ❞

❝ i know you wanna get discharged and go home, but we have to keep you for observation just a little longer. ❞

❝ i know you're scared, but you're in the right place. we're gonna do everything we can to make you better. ❞

❝ next time, call your general practioner or come see us sooner. google is not a reliable source. ❞

❝ just a few more stitches and we're done. ❞

❝ does it hurt when i touch here? ❞

❝ we're gonna get you fixed up, i promise. ❞

❝ i'd appreciate it if you could sit still and let me work, please. ❞

❝ sorry, could you repeat that last part for me? ❞

❝ is there anybody we can call for you? ❞

❝ it'll be a long road to recovery, do you have anyone at home to help? ❞

❝ it's a sprain. we'll get you a brace. ❞

❝ it does look like it's fractured, we're gonna get some imaging, okay? ❞

❝ you wanna see your x-rays? ❞

❝ bad news is its broken. good news, it's a clean break. with proper care and some physical therapy to follow up, it should heal well. ❞

❝ so you are going to need surgery. ❞

❝ don't worry, it's noninvasive and outpatient. ❞

❝ it is an invasive surgery, but we have some of the finest surgeons on the case. ❞

❝ we're a teaching hospital, is it okay if i let some student doctors observe? ❞

❝ i'm actually new. this is my first day. ❞

❝ i've never done this procedure before—well, except on cadavers. ❞

❝ that was unprofessional, i apologize. ❞

❝ tell me what's going on today? ❞

❝ you wanna tell me how you managed to get a gunshot wound like this? ❞

❝ that is a nasty laceration, what happened? ❞

❝ you know your blood type? ❞

❝ i know you haven't had the best of luck before, but i'm a new face. fresh ears. i am listening, i promise. ❞

❝ i'm sorry you've had a bad experience. i promise i believe you. ❞

❝ any pre-existing conditions we should know about? ❞

❝ how many fingers am i holding up? ❞

❝ we're gonna need to draw some blood. ❞

❝ you're right. i should've listened. ❞

❝ you need to listen to what i'm saying. ❞

❝ i know it sounds really scary, but we see it all the time. ❞

❝ it's manageable and you'll be able to live with it. but you have to follow the treatment plan. ❞

❝ if you keep moving like that it's gonna hurt more. please sit still. ❞

THE PATIENT

❝ honestly it doesn't hurt that much. ❞

❝ uhhh...that's not? normal, right...? ❞

❝ i'm sorry you said i'm gonna have to do what? ❞

❝ sorry, uh. could you repeat that? i'm nervous i wasn't really listening. ❞

❝ i hope it's not cancer. ❞

❝ well doctors do make the worst patients, what can i say. ❞

❝ could you just hold my hand for a second? ❞

❝ there's no one. it's just me. ❞

❝ shit—yeah, that hurts. that really hurts. ❞

❝ can i get outta here any time soon? ❞

❝ you look kinda young to be a doctor. ❞

❝ i thought i was fine but it just kept getting worse. ❞

❝ could i get something for the pain? ❞

❝ no—no drugs. please. ❞

❝ you're telling me it's 'just stress'? what's that supposed to even mean? ❞

❝ no one ever believes me. they think i'm exaggerating. i'm not making this up! ❞

❝ i just feel like i can't breathe. ❞

❝ that's a lot of blood... ❞

❝ how long is that supposed to take? ❞

❝ i'm scared of needles. ❞

❝ am i gonna be okay? ❞

❝ i-i'm so stupid. i should've been more careful. ❞

❝ do i really have to wear those gowns...? ❞

❝ what? what does that mean? ❞

❝ could you explain that again? ❞

❝ i'm having another episode. ❞

❝ i feel like i might pass out... ❞

❝ kinda wish i didn't have to be discharged. feels safer here than out there. ❞

❝ well aren't you doctor cutie? ❞

❝ have you ever done this before? ❞

❝ my veins are kinda tricky, try my left arm. ❞

❝ thank you. i mean it. ❞

❝ sorry i'm not trying to take it out on you i'm just really stressed. ❞

❝ i kinda hate hospitals. ❞

❝ don't come near me. ❞

❝ don't touch me! ❞

❝ that wasn't so bad. ❞

❝ there's air bubbles in my iv. ❞

❝ i don't mean to be difficult, it's just my condition is kinda particular and only my gp knows the details. i have this folder here that explains everything. ❞

❝ don't look at me like that. i know my own body. ❞

[clumsypuppy]

You are challenged by Sleepyhead Puppy!

[sickiehugs]

some kind of episode where The Gang gets a magical curse that makes them all swap bodies with eachother temporarily, and whoever ended up in the chronically ill character's body is like "Jesus, you *live* like this all the time?" and they're like yup.

[villainousauthor]

Hero struggles against the hold currently keeping them down, their joints ache, and they feel beyond fatigued.

"You're off your game today." Villain's voice is observant and factual. Not quite judgemental, though. Their grip doesn't relent, holding Hero down.

"I'm fine. Don't go worrying your pretty little head about me." They wave their hand dismissively, but Villain then wrenches it down as well. They scoff.

"I never said I was worried." Villain's gaze is intense, examining Hero closely, making them feel akin to a bug under a magnifying glass. The ache in their body only gets worse, the pain in their chest leaving them breathless.

Their critical gaze sweeps over Hero, not missing anything. "You have another rash on your face." They speak as they brush a thumb across Hero's cheek. "Are you having another flare up?"

Hero pushes their hand away. "You seem like someone who's worried. Or maybe just too nosy." Nosy is an understatement in Hero's mind. Villain apparently did some digging, got ahold of their medical files a while back like menace they are.

Now, they do a good job of infuriating Hero with their concern that they pretend isn't concern. Hero doesn't care if they're technically right, or if they know they should be resting.

Villain's frown deepens.

"You know exerting yourself when you're not feeling well will only worsen it. It's like 90 degrees out today, and you thought it was a good idea to come fight me?" Their voice is stern, unwavering. "What's the pain at today?"

"Like you know so much about my condition?" Hero scoffs, knowing very well they've made a point to understand it better than most in Hero's life. "Why do you care?"

"Answer my question."

Hero tries to sit up despite Villain's steel hold. "Why don't you use it against me like a normal nemesis? Why care?"

Pushing them down again, Villain's voice is firmer. "I don't care. Answer my question." They'll hear no argument in the moment.

"About a five today." Hero rolls their eyes, trying to pretend the tiredness and pain isn't affecting them that much. Of course, it doesn't fool their rival, though.

Villain leans back, examining their face. After a moment they speak.

"Okay. You're gonna go home and rest. It's no fun fighting you when you're already in pain." And like that, they're letting go of their hold on Hero.

"You can't make me -"

"If I catch you doing any hero work today, I will kick your ass, and since I know that's not enough to convince you, I'll then go and kill your friends." Their voice holds no sense of dishonesty or bluffing.

Villain grabs them by the chin, forcing Hero to look them in the eye. "Go home, or I'll drag you there myself."

[redd956]

Chronic Pain Whump Prompt List

Whumpee rolled over in their bedding, hissing through their gritted teeth. Thunder shook the house. Quick flashes of lightning brightened the room sporadically. Their face flushed as if feverish, and sweat beaded against their forehead.

Leader sat themselves down suddenly, running their fingers through their hair, trying to push any fleck of warmth off their sweltering face.

Hot coals. That was the best description for what walking started to feel like. Whumpee found themselves breaking into a limp, still they continued to drag their feet, daydreaming about someone lifting them into a carry.

Whumpee curled in on themselves, shuddering in the corner. Every pore of their skin stung as if hail was being pelt against them. They brush their hand against their fine hairs? It felt like someone was yanking a wax strip. They try to chew food? Their gums ached, sore and useless. They just wanted it to stop, but even through their uncontrollable shivering, they just hurt.

Red splotches started to form across the back of whumpee's shoulders. They gulped, feeling the tightness of their chest as their esophagus worked. Here soon every sensation would burn.

"Caretaker?", Whumpee leaned forward in bed, looking failing to hide the sheepish expression forming on their face. They tried to reach back to their shoulders, but the pain was too much. "Can you... massage my shoulders?"

"Let me just sit down for a moment. I'm just feeling a little shaky is all." Caretaker lied through their teeth.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" Whumperee gave an awkward smile, not yet feeling the redness that tinted their nose and cheeks.

Caretaker kneaded stoic whumpee's back, hearing them give deep breaths of relief. Whumpee tried to remain silent. They weren't doing the best job, and finally gave in, snaking their hand back to catch Caretaker's. This was perfection, starting.

[ky-landfill]

Some angsty pit withdrawal Jason and batfam? 🤲

“Dad…?” I’m here, Jay.

[rotruff]

btw ur f/o would love to take care of you.

come down with something? they'll be there for you in any way that they can. they might not be a great cook, but they'll pick up anything you could ever need or want whenever you want. they might be the type who wants to keep a little space since they dont wanna get sick, but they'll leave little notes around for you or maybe a jacket or similarly comforting article around for you as a little reminder of their love for you. they'll help you pass time, whether that be through watching movies, talking with you, or just being a quiet presence nearby. whatever makes you feel better, they're happy to oblige. they just want you to feel better, even if they might not be a doctor or anything, they hope that they can be of service to ypu anyway.

just not feeling great? that's fine too, everyones got their off moments. (maybe if they're the more flirty type they make a joke about how it must be exhausting being the loveliest person in history.) they're more than happy to be a support for you in any way that they can in this time, whether that means just being there for you or stepping in to help you with things physically. whether you want them to just be by your side and keep you company or for them to help you out with things like showering or eating something, they'll be sure to put their heart into it. they care about you and your happiness means the world to them, they dont mind doing whatever it takes to help you feel a little bit better.

chronic pain or similar? oh yeah, dont even worry about it. even if theyre not super strong, they'll offer to help you around if you absolutely need to, though they might be a little bit of a worrywart about you getting some rest. you want any painkillers? they'll go running through a storm for it. you just want a distraction? they'll happily regale you with some story of theirs to help take your mind off the pain. you just want their company? they're already fitting themselves as close as they can to you. they know that, no matter how much they wish they could, they cant really take the pain away, but theyll do whatever they can to help take your mind off of it and alleviate some of that pain.

[theghoulofme]

something that genuinely annoys me as a chronically ill person is getting constantly asked only about my health. how are you? how are you dealing with it mentally? im the same as always. this is my normal. i don't want to be constantly asked about it. cant you be interested in something else about me. not my health. ask me about what I've been doing. what am i listening to. any fun dreams ive had. it gets really depressing very fast when every single interaction with others ends up starting with your chronic illnesses.

like i know it feels fucking different to you and you with your perfect health can't even imagine how someone is living like this. but this is my life. this is my normal. and id like to get treated like im more than just my illness

[murmuring-mycelium]

hi friendly reminder that chronic illnesses and disabilities can affect every aspect of a person. from getting out of bed, ability for self care, sex life, physical appearance (yes this includes genitalia), exercise, weight, sleep schedule, and more.

most people are aware of the pain, fatigue, weak immune system, but you don’t really see people talking about the more mundane things…

my gums bleed when i brush my teeth because connective tissue disorders don’t just affect internal connective tissue.

weight loss is incredibly difficult for me, and despite being underweight, it’s not visible.

i can’t get braces because my teeth would just go back to their original place.

anaesthetics affect me differently.

my body looks visibly different and conventionally unattractive by societies standards, and my chronic illness plays a very very big part in that.

some parts of my organs are literally dead inside of me.

be mindful of what you say and how you judge people. you don’t know what they’re experiencing.

[this post was written by someone with heds, with heds mainly in mind]

[salt-baby]

at some point in disability you stop wanting to "get better" and this is just really hard for able bodied people to understand for some reason

[herbaliciousss]

since I’ve lost my mind, my muscles are the only way to hold memory anymore. the body keeps score.

[witchygirlgray333]

Journal prompts / ideas

Poems (either ones you've written or just ones you enjoy or connect with)

Book review

Film review

Write about your day

Collage

Vision board

Habit tracker

Calendar page

Notes from something you're learning

Quotes you like

Draw some outfits you like

Search up creative writing prompts and do those

Meditate and write down your thoughts before / during / after (I don't do this everytime or sometimes I'll only write afterwards but when I write before, during and after it's always really interesting to read back on and see how much has changed)

Stickerbomb page

Films to watch

Books to read

Wishlist

Bucket list

Highlight of the day (I like to have a page in my journal where I write a short sentence of my favourite thing that happened that day, it's nice to look back on and it's nice especially for days when I'm not feeling well enough to do a longer entry)

Gratitude list

Random thoughts

Drawings and sketches (I'm not even good at drawing but I love drawing or sketching in my journals and just expressing myself)

This one is more for chronically ill people but making notes for doctor / hospital appointments which helps so much! I have severe memory loss so a lot of the time I'll turn up to an appointment and have totally forgotten about anything I'd hoped to say so this has been a total lifesaver

Along with what I said in my last point about living with severe memory loss my whole journal works towards helping me deal with living with the memory loss. I'll probably do another post soon about more in depth ideas for journaling to help life with memory loss but I write down SO MUCH. I've got to do lists, a calendar page, my night routine (I'll also have my morning routine written down once I've actually worked one out!), things I need to do everyday (such as brushing my teeth, washing my face etc), contact info for people I'm close to, labelled photos of my loved ones (it can be really scary when I don't recognise people so having these pages really help), a list of things I can do throughout the day (I'm on bedrest but having a list of things that I enjoy doing written down is a nice reminder, some of the things on the list at the moment are make tiktok videos, do makeup, watch a movie or tv show, journal, scrapbook etc)

[sickiehugs]

a character with pots who goes about their day feeling boiling hot but chalks it up to their poor temperature regulation, only to discover that they had a fever all along.

other symptoms of a fever could be blamed on their pots as well, such as nausea, dizziness, headache, fatigue, and pallor. but those around them notice that something's just a tad out of the ordinary, like the character isn't carrying their symptoms like usual today. something's wrong.

[penfight]

Physical copies of my zine Prompts for zine-making: For disability and chronic illness (updated 2nd edition) are now available up on the shop

You can also get a printable PDF (among lots of other zines and resources) with a subscription to my Ko-Fi

[galwithalibrarycard]

I am having Such a Bad Gut Night (something i ate), and it is inspiring me to complain about the lack of gastrointestinal whump and hurt/comfort in fanfiction. Yes, bathroom distress is gross, but vomiting is gross and fevers and flus are gross, and there’s whump about those. So why not fic for those of us whose intestines hate us?

- Character A has ulcerative colitis. Character B cooks them gut friendly meals on the regular, joins them in avoiding dairy and spicy/greasy/fried things, and when a colonoscopy is coming up for their partner, B goes shopping for clear liquids and low-residue foods for bowel prep day and the day before prep day respectively.

- Character A is doing bowel prep and feels like hell warmed over. A can’t stand to be seen by anyone or do anything but groan feebly. Character B camps out outside the bathroom door and talks to A through said door, so they have their privacy but aren’t alone.

- Or, Character B goes away, but keeps catching themself hovering outside the bathroom door anyway, wanting desperately to provide comfort but knowing that A wants to tough it out alone.

- Character A is sleeping off the anesthesia from their colonoscopy. Character B is curled up sleeping next to them, after a night of being woken up unintentionally and then laying awake worrying and feeling guilty that their partner has to make themself sick for this medical procedure and there’s nothing B can do to ease their discomfort. Little do they know A was also feeling guilty for keeping B up all night.

- Character A has ulcerative colitis and is having nausea and/or abdominal pain and/or tenesmus. Character B massages Character A’s stomach until they feel better.

- Character A is in the mood to complain about their IBD. Character B listens and commiserates and even cracks a few jokes to cheer A up.

- (I don’t have a stoma but for those who do) Character A has a stoma and Character B is instrumental in helping A still feel sexy and at home in their body.

And I don’t care how much you like anal stuff, colonoscopy is not sexually pleasurable at all (looking at you, that one fic on ao3).

[saltandsneezes]

A is chronically ill and wakes up with what they think is just a bad symptom day, but not bad enough to stay home. So, they drag themself out of bed, take their meds, and head to work, not realizing they're actually getting sick. B, their boss/coworker/supervisor, notices that they seem a bit out of it. A brushes off B's worry with a true excuse about a migraine. Over the course of the day, B notices that A doesn't touch their lunch, is struggling to stay awake, and isn't their normal happy self. B goes to send A home and places their hand on A's shoulder comfortingly, only to find out that A is burning up. This is news to both of them. B insists on driving A home right then, making sure they have everything they need to spend the next few days in bed recovering.