what exactly is it that you do?

What is it exactly that you do? A question I was once asked by a previous employer.  One who had no clue I was part of the glue holding it together.I ran down my professional skills which all seem boring to me and apparently to them too. Minus a few cool things I got to do in my career. What is it exactly that I do? Survive. I have a PHD in that. Ive done it well for decades. Survive my fathers raging alcohaulism when i was a young child. Driving my first car at the age of 4. Then after that surviving his unmedicated schizophrenia where talking to trees and plotting his families murder was a common thing in our house. Conversations about how he was either going to shoot us all and how or burn out house down with us in it were things we heard every day. There were many days spent surviving, until my family and I were able to break free and start new lives. Of course before the schizophrenia of my father came my diagnosis with lupus. Immediately into that diagnosis in was fighting for my life while my kidneys were failing. Trying anything that would work just to get it to calm down. Again surviving. Once Pandora was back in her box (Lupus) within a year of that i was diagnosed with a rare bone disease which would require multiple surgeries, massive amounts of pain and finding someone who not only knew about the rare disease but could make me walk again when the bone disease crippled me not once but twice.  Again surviving. It took lots of searching and finding the very best surgeon I could to give me the ability to walk again with a hip replacement.  When surviving is the only thing you know how to do you wear it like a crown. However the downside of the survival crown is people tend to either look at you with pity or they think you are weak. But you know if they were given 24 hours to walk in your shoes they wouldn't even survive it. We've all heard the phrase don't judge until you have walked a mile in someone else's shoes. Its true. However most people at least those who haven't experienced more than their fair share in life tend to do the opposite and judge immediately. Those people could learn a lesson in compassion. Survival is hard I don't care what anyone says. Going through things in life where no one has any clue What you've been through is rough. You know you have reached the Pinnacle of survival when you go to therapy and even your therapist is amazed how well adjusted you are and that you aren't in some sort of padded cell losing your mind from all the trauma you have been through. And when they ask you how you made it to the other side you tell them about how determined you are to have a happy and peaceful life and that was the driving force that got you through. Being a Survivor doesn't come with a road map. But it sure comes with one hell of a story.