Content Note: Chronic illness, disability, medical events (including migraines), emotional overwhelm, survival language. Gentle grounding included.
Welcome to The Crippled Cryptid
Disability. Chronic illness. Service dogs.
Survival without the performance.
If you’re new here, hi. I’m Sky.
Professional cryptid. Unwilling amateur cyborg.
Occasional advocate, writer, and creator.
Medically complex enough to make my chart a jump scare.
I cope with sarcasm, snacks, and building something honest in a world that really prefers things to be tidy and inspirational.
Most days are lived in a haunted meat suit with a questionable warranty and a long-standing feud with my nervous system.
But Thursdays…
Thursdays are quieter.
And this one?
This one has paws in it. Just like everything this week!
This week in the Den has been hers.
Not loudly. Not all at once.
But in pieces. Stories. Moments.
The way something important usually is.
What This Space Is (And Isn’t)
This isn’t a rant.
This isn’t a report.
This is a check-in.
With me.
With you.
With the Den.
This space was never meant to be one-sided. It’s a place to exist together. To be seen without performing wellness. Without pretending things are okay when they aren’t.
No inspiration porn.
No forced positivity.
No gold stars for suffering silently.
Just honesty.
And this week, a little bit of celebration woven into it.
Softly. The way it belongs.
🐾 This Week With Luna
We’ve been telling her story in pieces this week.
How I got her.
The moment she chose me back.
The first time she alerted and everything shifted.
The quiet realization that this wasn’t just a dog.
Then again, I don’t think that Luna Bean has ever just been anything.
This was a partnership.
A lifeline with paws.
If you’ve been here a while, you’ve watched her grow into this role the same way I have.
Which means this isn’t just her anniversary.
It’s ours, too.
Tomorrow, she takes over.
(As she should. This is her blog now. I just pay the bills.)
And on the 11th?
She gets her salmon fillet feast.
Because obviously she does.
The Creatures Who Keep Me Here
I spend a lot of time in Bed Jail™, but I’m rarely alone.
There’s Luna. (Of course!)
My medical alert service dog.
Guardian. Enforcer. Service Dingo™.
This week marks two years since she found me.
And somehow, in the middle of that… she’s been hovering.
Watching me closer than usual.
Sticking to me like she’s personally offended by the idea of me being unsupervised.
The kind of quiet, constant presence that says:
“Something’s not right, and I’m not letting you ignore it.”
Sometimes it’s just the weight of her head on my leg.
Like she’s anchoring me here on purpose.
She’s been right before.
(Annoyingly often.)
But this time?
I think it’s the weather.
Spring didn’t arrive gently in Illinois. It kicked the door in. Storms, tornado warnings, pressure swings that turn my head into a fault line.
More migraines. More bad days.
And still…
There’s something about this week.
Two years of her choosing to stay.
Two years of her learning me faster than I can keep up with myself.
Two years of being seen- sometimes before I’m ready.
🐾 Anniversary or not. You are still supervised.
And then there’s M&M.
My Player 2. My soft place to land.
Currently in their “please rest and stop being so stubborn” era.
Which, to be clear, is an entirely reasonable response.
And yet.
Your Cryptid remains deeply committed to the bit.
Stubborn in a way that isn’t admirable. Just well-practiced.
That instinct-
“I’ll just push through it”
It kept me alive once.
It is not what keeps me safe now.
Because Luna doesn’t celebrate by letting me push past my limits.
She celebrates by making sure I stay.
I want to celebrate her by doing more.
She celebrates me by asking me to do less.
We’re still negotiating.
🐾 Celebration week does not override medical supervision.
So, let me say this clearly. For you and for me:
Don’t take that habit from me.
Even if I’m still learning how to put it down.
Even old Cryptids can learn new tricks.
I promise.
The Actual Check-In
Alright.
No dodging.
No “I’m fine, but—” escape hatches.
I don’t get away with it. So, neither do you.
How are you doing… really?
You’re allowed to be honest here.
You are not a burden for having feelings.
You are not “too much” for existing in a hard body or a hard life.
Take a breath with me.
In for four.
Hold.
Out for six.
Again, if you need it.
Unclench your jaw.
Drop your shoulders.
Go grab some water.
I’ll wait.
🐾 Hydration has been noted. Acceptable.
Where I’m At
Somewhere between migraines and hanging on for dear life.
Which, if we’re being honest, is what happens when I overdo it.
And I am overdoing it.
Because it’s her week.
Luna Bean’s two-year Adoptiversary.
I’m so proud of her. Of everything she’s learned, everything she’s become, everything she does for me every single day.
And I want to celebrate that.
Even if she would very much prefer that I celebrate it from a horizontal position.
She doesn’t want me pushing my limits.
But I want to honor her.
And maybe that’s the balance I’m still learning.
Because the kind of week this is… it makes the creatures around you watch a little closer.
It turns celebration into something softer. Quieter. More intentional.
I’m not handling it perfectly.
But I’m still here.
And right now- that counts.
And if I’m being honest?
Part of the reason I’m still here- still steady, still trying- is because something with four paws and zero patience for my nonsense refuses to let me disappear into it.
For You, Wherever You’re At
If this week is kicking your ass, I see you.
If you’re barely holding it together, that still counts as holding it together.
If things are heavy, you don’t have to carry it alone here.
And if things are good?
You’re allowed to say that too without guilt.
There is room for all of it.
If you don’t have the words today, that’s okay.
You still showed up.
And that matters more than people give it credit for.
🎁 If You Want to Celebrate With Her
A few people have asked if there’s a way to celebrate Luna this week.
There is. Very gently. Very optionally.
We put together a little wishlist for her. Toys, treats, enrichment things she loves.
Nothing expected. Nothing required.
Just there in case you want to be part of her joy.
If you do send something, we’ll wrap every single one.
And yes- there will absolutely be photos and videos of her unwrapping them like the chaos gremlin she is. We’ll also send thank-you notes, if you include your address, the kind that come with doggy pawprints attached.
The Door Is Open
If you want to talk, my DMs are open.
No pressure. No expectations.
Just open.
If all you’ve got is a 🐾 because it’s been a rough week and you need some extra Luna love?
That’s enough.
We’ll send photos. Videos. Evidence of a very good girl doing her job.
No conversation required.
And if you’ve been here a while- if you’ve watched Luna grow into herself the same way I have-
Then this week belongs to you too.
Because none of this has ever really been just mine.
I hope the rest of your week is kinder to you than the beginning was.
I’m really glad you’re here. So is our Luna Bean.
I mean that.
Love you.
Yeah, I said it first. Your turn.
-Sky
🐾 Luna’s Official Adoptiversary Week Assessment
Increased supervision protocols remain in effect.
Anniversary status does not exempt Mumther from rest requirements.
Observed: stubbornness, deflection, mild chaos.
Intervened accordingly.
Approved: eventual compliance, snack consumption, continued existence.
Upcoming: salmon feast. New ball acquisition. Gift unwrapping procedures.
Rating: 12/10.
Would choose again.
© The Crippled Cryptid
Disability. Honesty. A little chaos.
(But softer this week.)
🔗 https://linktr.ee/skylanarissa
There’s never pressure to donate. Reading, sharing, or simply being here is more than enough.
If you’d like to support the long, slow work of staying alive, stable, and building this space:
💜 https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-skys-journey-to-health-and-mobility
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