Butterfly needles. IVs. Bedpans. Noisy medical machines. Gauze. Alcohol. Frigid stethoscopes. There’s no rest, no privacy, and no promises. There is, however, worry, uncertainty, anger, and fear. This. This is what it feels like to be a perpetual, continual, chronically ill patient. You sit and lie in a hospital bed or emergency room for hours on end, waiting for your vitals, your labs, keeping conversations with hospital staff at surface level, watching other patients suffer. You wait for hours to talk to your doctor for two minutes, reporting how well—or how poorly—you’re doing, and confronting the limited options available to help...