There is an irony to living with a chronic pain illness in that from such tragedy, pain and bouts with depression so grey that one feels a kindred spirit with days filled with fog and rain which so closely resemble your heart.  But in the midst of this grey time tiny sparks of friendship formed by the common thread of IC, shoot straight into your heart and fill your being with both sadness and hope that someone else understands and knows your secret pains and fears, for they have them too.  The color of this friendship is red: born of bleeding hearts, pain and the crimson heat of strength to overcome the pain and symptoms of IC. 

Friendships formed in this way are both complex and yet so very simple for at the heart of the matter is understanding and the desire for the other is the same desire buried in your heart: get well and embrace your passions once again.  IC might be the common denominator of friendships forged across thousands of miles, but its multiplier is grace.  There is no room for falsehood, secrets or even years filled with a careful dance of give and take, for to befriend someone with IC all barriers fall away and the bonds of friendship are immediate, heartfelt and strong.  Friendship is the one thing that IC cannot take away.  The pain might be there in the background but knowing that friends who share the same pain are there silently rooting for you seems greater than the friendships lost through misunderstanding.  So it is this irony, that you might have to experience the pain of IC, but friendships will unfold which can withstand all of this pain and encircle your heart just when you need it the most, that IC becomes, if only for a moment, a beautiful thing indeed.