I have been sick for eighteen months and people have stopped asking

Dear Delyara, I developed long-term symptoms after a viral infection: exhaustion, dizziness, heart racing, and a heaviness that makes walking to the kitchen feel like crossing a field. At first, people sent food and messages. My manager said to take all the time I needed. Friends promised to visit. Eighteen months later, the sympathy has expired while the illness remains. My employer has begun discussing capability procedures. Friends invite me less because I cancel often. My husband says he believes me, but I see frustration when he returns from work to find the same dishes beside the sink. Tests show nothing dramatic. Doctors speak about pacing and uncertainty. I have become a person whose life cannot be proved through results. Yesterday, my sister said, “You must be used to it by now.” I am not used to it. I am simply more practiced at suffering without witnesses. The world expects illness either to kill you, cure you, or become quiet enough not to inconvenience anyone. Mine has chosen none of those options.