"With the first major hospitalization, he asked me to marry him."

The love story of the poet M. Antònia Massanet

Poet M. Antònia Massanet is convinced she has found the best possible life partner in her husband, Toni, whom she met one night out at Razzmatazz. In the twenty years they have been together, they have overcome many difficulties. The economic crisis of 2008 left them both jobless and with barely any money. Having recovered from that shock, ten years later, in 2018, Massanet was diagnosed with no fewer than four chronic illnesses: endometriosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and dysautonomia. "I've always had him by my side. During my first major hospitalization, he asked me to marry him, when many husbands disappear in such situations," she says.

When they wanted to be parents, the poet encountered many difficulties getting pregnant. "With each fertility treatment, my health has worsened; I've paid for each attempt, and I've gotten worse physically," she says. Now that they are 44 and 50, they have given up on the idea of being parents because they can't adopt or foster children either.

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With the support of her husband, and her passion for reading and writing, Massanet has built great resilience. "Fortunately or unfortunately, humans get used to everything, and I've gotten used to living in a simpler and more humble way. When you're really ill, you disappear from public life for a while, and it's a great lesson in humility. When I'm well, it makes me very happy to go to poetry events, and I never let myself go. I'm mentally ill. Every event I can attend is a party for me, and I really enjoy it. Other times, I have to stay in bed and think that the outbreak will pass. I've been living together for eight years, and, like it or not, you have to adapt," she adds.

That's why the couple enjoys many simple things like going shopping together and cooking something good to eat. "With dysautonomia, I have little stability and often use a cane, although my true source of support, both physically and mentally, is Toni," the poet concludes.