Chronic

Chronic. It's such a nasty sounding word; harsh, almost condemning. I have a chronic illness. I suffer from chronic pain. I am chronically tired. These conditions exist, persisting with me continually and for long periods of time. For many physicians these are the worst kinds of conditions to treat. Chronic conditions almost always lead to lifestyle limitations and premature death. I hate being chronic.

It's almost an alien sounding word. Imagine a group of aliens getting off their spaceship. "Hello. We are from the planet Chronic. My name is Org. This is my brother Dorg. And this is my other brother Dorg. We are from the government of Chronic and we are here to help you." That whole chronic word fits right in there, as if it belongs. You can even say it with a ragged edge, like some space robot.

On the other hand, chronic has a tremendous variety of uses, much more than simply describing a medical condition, illness or pain. "This is my friend Ralph. He is chronically late." "This is my friend Jane. She is a chronic liar." "This is my friend Org, or Dorg; I can't tell them apart. He is chronically unhappy." As long as your friends weren't smart enough to understand what chronic meant, or unless they were aliens, you could use chronic in almost every way you can image.

Chronic. It means persisting for a long time or constantly recurring and difficult to eradicate. ALS fits that just perfectly. The damage to my body fits that word just perfectly. I'm chronic. At least that's what my doctor says. Org from the planet Chronic agrees.