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Updated 6 months ago,October 23, 2024
New Years Eve, 2014.
You and your family are outside setting off small fireworks to celebrate the new year.
Your husband checks the mail and finds a letter from your doctor.
Photo byChris AinsworthonUnsplash
Inside, the letter reads, You have been diagnosed with Crohns disease.
Despite your initial shock, theres an immense relief in finally having answers.
The questions flood your mind quickly: What is life going to look like now?
What is going to change?
Will I always feel sick?
Despair and grief begin to set in.
You will start 2015 as a new persona person who is now faced with a lifelong illness.
The journey to managing your disease and treatment begins.
You have been so sick for so long, and you are unbelievably ready to feel relief.
While you do experience some relief, by early 2016, youre in a major flare.
Tests are run, and you travel three hours away for a specific test called an MRE.
The results show some concerning things, and your doctor recommends a bowel resection.
You are sent to a hospital five hours away that specializes in inflammatory bowel disease.
Initially, your surgery is a great success.
You are up, walking, eating, and expected to go home in a couple of days.
But things quickly and unexpectedly take a turn for the worse.
You spike a fever and are in incredible painso much so that you cant really tell whats going on.
Your bowel contents have been spreading through your abdomen.
This marks the beginning of one of the most difficult times in your life.
Recovery from major abdominal surgery is long and painful.
Friends and family step in to help in amazing ways.
However, some days it feels like you will never feel like your old self again.
But you do begin to feel like yourself again.
Months go by, and one day you realize that it’s possible for you to eat without pain.
To enjoy food and not be in pain feels like a miracle.
Before your surgery, you started an Instagram page dedicated to your Crohns journey.
Its been incredible to find support and community from those who get it.
Over the next eight years, your account grows to over 8,000 followers.
Along with Facebook and TikTok, you have built a community with over 10,000 friends!
Your favorite posts to share are those that educate about new research and treatments.
People reach out in messages every day to connect with someone who may understand what they are going through.
Giving encouragement and hope to those who feel fearful and overwhelmed is such a good feeling.
As for your healththings are going really well!
Your bloodwork is all in the normal range, and colonoscopies show remission in your intestines.
Your good days FAR outweigh the bad days.
Making modifications in life to chores and activities helps you maximize your limited energy levels.
You give a shot to live life just like anyone else.
Working around your Crohns and its symptoms has been a learning experience.
You celebrate the good days and make a run at fill them with all you could do.
On days when you need rest, you rest.
Without rest days, you wouldnt have so many good days.
Life certainly does not look like you thought it would, but your life is still very amazing.
Having a supportive spouse makes a world of difference.
Hopefully, that includes a cure one day!
Just rememberCrohns is part of you, but not all of you!
