“They closed my work location that following spring so I moved back to Michigan and stayed with my sister. When I came back things were different. There was a tension between me and my brothers and sisters, I couldn’t really explain it. Why were they acting different towards me? My sisters that I thought that I was close too were really sh*tty and I felt they were treating me different, it was a barrier - standoffish, a different vibe. I couldn’t figure out what it was, I just thought ‘Ugh, aren’t they funny acting.’ After I was here for a few months I figured out it wasn’t them that was different, it was me that was different. Because it changes your whole perspective, it changes your outlook on things. I became a different person when I was diagnosed.
Again I thought I had that support system. Well one day my sister was drinking, she doesn’t ever drink, and she just went into this tantrum ‘I don’t care what the aunties say, I’m not afraid to drink after you. I don’t care what the brothers and sisters say.’ I was devastated, like they were discussing me, somebody’s afraid to drink after me, somebody has all these ignorant ideas going on. Nobody said any of this to me, except my sister when she got tipsy, that was it. It was like the old stereotypes ‘If you sneeze on me I’m going to get it.’ I thought they were on my side, in my corner, my support system. It’s not my job to educate them for being ignorant, they’re way older than me. In no way am I going to educate them and in no way am I going to pretend this didn’t happen. It was hurtful, I was devastated, I couldn’t believe they’d treat me like that - betrayed, I felt really hurt and betrayed.” (2/4)