Hope Heals and Unites

Over the past 3.5 years, this site has morphed and changed, and it has accumulated a lot of valuable information. It started out as a place to tell stories of recovery from fluoroquinolone toxicity. Over time, it became a repository for hundreds of articles about fluoroquinolones, and I started to write posts that focused on research. Fluoroquinolone toxicity became a puzzle that I wanted to solve, and many of the posts on this site are about that detective-work. I went to Washington D.C. in order to advocate for change in how fluoroquinolones are prescribed, and I wrote about those experiences. With that, this site became an advocacy site, and changes to medical and pharmaceutical policies were put forth. This site has become a supportive community, and I am grateful beyond words for the hundreds of people who have contributed more than 15,000 comments to Floxie Hope. It has grown, it has morphed, it has become more substantial and more effective with each post, article, and comment. I’m proud of this little site.

Though all its forms and purposes add to its value, I think that the most important and useful thing about Floxie Hope is it’s core and original purpose–to be a place where people can share stories of healing, resilience, recovery, and, most importantly, HOPE.

Fluoroquinolone toxicity is different for each individual who experiences it. Some people have absolutely devastating reactions, while others get off more lightly. Everyone’s symptoms are different, everyone’s timeline is different, and what helps and hurts each person is different. Also, we all have different backgrounds, personalities, characters, and approaches to life and illness. No matter the severity of an individual’s illness, or personality, or approach to life (both optimists and pessimists, religious people and non-religious people, rich and poor, etc.), we all need, and benefit from, HOPE.

Hope is healing, and it is necessary for healing. It’s not the only factor in healing, and I don’t think that we should try to hope fluoroquinolone toxicity away without doing anything else, but it is a valuable component none the less.

I hope for recovery for all those who suffer from fluoroquinolone toxicity. I hope for change in how fluoroquinolones are prescribed. I hope for acknowledgement of the devastation that fluoroquinolones inflict on the lives of their victims. I hope for less suffering and more healing.

Can we all agree on that? Can we all agree that healing and recovery are valuable, and that they should be hoped for? Can we agree that too many people are getting hurt by fluoroquinolones, and that we should hope for change? I think that we can agree on those things. Hope unites.

There are differences in what changes people think should be made. Some people think that all fluoroquinolones should be taken off the market, others think that they should remain available but that their use should be restricted. Some people think that the pharmaceutical companies can and will discover a cure for fluoroquinolone toxicity (and all the other “rare” diseases and adverse drug reactions out there), while others see the pharmaceutical companies as the problem, not the solution. Some people think that the FDA should be abolished for not adequately protecting people from the harm that prescription drugs do, while others think that working with the FDA is the best way to enact meaningful change. Some people fight, some people forgive, some people do a combination of the two–they’re not mutually exclusive. Some people question all aspects of the pharmaceutical industry (including vaccines), others think that fluoroquinolones are a particular bad apple, but other drugs and vaccines are good and helpful. Some people warn against throwing the baby out with the bath-water, others want to burn the whole system down.

I have been many places on the continuum of opinions above. I can see the perspective of anyone who argues for any of those things. Though I try to err on the side of hope (and continuity–I’m not really a “burn the mother****** down” person, no matter how much I want change), I can even see the perspective of those who are angry, and who want to destroy the entire system that hurt them. Anger can even be seen as hopeful–hoping for change on a visceral, emotional level. The experience of getting floxed, and taking the time to really process my thoughts and emotions about all steps in the journey, has led me to be a more compassionate, open, understanding, and empathetic person. I see perspectives that I didn’t see before, and I understand and value them even when I don’t agree with them.

The floxie community is diverse, and we could focus on our differences. I don’t think we should though. I think we should focus on the things that unite us. Hope unites us. Healing and recovery unite us–no matter what form they take. We’re all trying to do our best to recover, and to make it through this crazy world we live in. We want our health and safety, and the health and safety of our loved ones, first and foremost. Acknowledgement and paradigm shifts are nice too. If we focus on our common goals and strengths, we can get further than we can if we focus on our differences. Hope unites and it heals. We all need hope.

May this site give you hope. May it bring people together. May it be a resource and a community. May you heal. May we all heal.