- Rosario Zavala
Chicagoans is a first-person account from off the beaten track, as told to Anne Ford. This week’s Chicagoan is Jenni Prokopy, person living with chronic illnesses and founder of ChronicBabe.com.
“I had a family member who recommended an out-of-state specialist, and that doctor gave me a bunch of treatments that made me much, much worse. She started me on three medications at the same time, and I had a horrible reaction. I was traveling on a work trip and hallucinating in my hotel room. I was like, ‘I am in Las Vegas, and I am hallucinating, and I am not cool with being Hunter S. Thompson right now.’
“About my illnesses, I’ve heard everything from ‘Suck it up, get over it’ to ‘You just have to stay positive.’ I do actually believe being positive helps a lot, but I’ve had a lot of people think you just have to think it away. These people are well-meaning. I try very hard to remember that. But every once in a while, I just want to tell them to fuck off. I’ve been sick for almost 20 years. I know what I’m doing.”
