More Than A Disease
Editor's note: Lena Alazzeh's "More Than A Disease" won third place in the Synapse Storytelling Contest creative writing, poetry category.
Do you see me?
And all that I am
I mean do you really see me
Past my illness and what ails me
From the clipboard of my facts
Do you know who I am?
What I enjoy and what I want to return towards?
Do you understand me
Can you See past your narrow scope
Do you know my past and everything that makes me who you see
Seeing my present and all that brings me joy as well as sadness
My hopes and my fears
Do you hear me?
I mean really hear me
My worries and concerns
My struggles I have at home
Am I more than a diagnosis?
More than just another customer
Am I a person or just a pathology
Do you treat me or just my parts
I am not just the sum of tests and numbers
I am my feelings and beliefs
My background and my needs
Please don’t make me disappear
Remember why you are here
Treat me like I am a human being
Not just my disease
