I am blessed to have discovered this website.  I am majoring in counseling and about to do my personal theory paper.  I have decided to work with the Chronically Ill, when my best friend was ill, she would go to doctors quite often; they would prescribe her pain medicine, and antidepressants, but no one once suggested counseling in order to help her deal with issue of low self-esteem(due to her illness), depression (due to her illness), feeling of hopelessness, and helplessness.  She had to sit by and watch others go on with their lives, and often times she felt like life was passing her by.  I watched her lose hope, which is a very dangerous thing.  Don't ever lose hope, don't ever give up, don't ever stop expecting more, expecting better, expecting a cure.