Today is World IBD Day, and if you care about me, I hope you'll take five minutes of your time to read this post.
Today is World IBD Day, and I'm going to admit something I don't normally admit—sometimes, I'm scared. I'm scared people think I'm overreacting. I'm scared people won't understand. I'm scared Remicade will stop working. I'm scared I'll feel the pain I used to feel. I'm scared for my career life and my future. I'm scared I'll be on my own and no one will want to deal with the fact that I might not always feel as well as I do now. I'm scared what might happen if I have kids one day. And I'm more scared than you know to see this disease take the life of someone younger than me—good people doing good work are not supposed to have to lose their lives at 20 years old (Rest in peace, Alex). So I'm scared for myself and for all of my friends with IBD who I see going through their own struggles each and every day.
Today is World IBD Day, and if you care about me, I hope you'll take another five minutes of your time to learn something about Crohn's and colitis, and then pass it on. Ask me a question or tell me what you learned. Because for every person who learns and shares, there's one less person who has to suffer in silence living with IBD.
If you knew me in college, you might remember when I was at my sickest. I went undiagnosed my whole first semester of college, trying approach after approach that did nothing to help me. I used to spend hours in the bathroom and struggle to sit through class. I sat through my Intro to Bio class learning about all kinds of diseases, and I later came across the notes where I'd defined Crohn's disease in 19 words. Meanwhile, I was sitting in that very class feeling miserable, wearing a makeshift diaper so I wouldn't crap my pants, not knowing that's exactly what was wrong with me. That is, until I was diagnosed just over two months later.
It always stuck with me how the first time I learned about Crohn's it was a textbook definition under 20 words. Today, I'd define Crohn's VERY differently. I blogged about this awhile back, and I want to share it again. Because if you're going to oblige my request and learn something today, looking up the definition of Crohn's, colitis or IBD doesn't count. Because nineteen words won't tell you what someone with IBD goes through on a daily basis. I don't share my story because I want pity, I share it because I felt incredibly scared and isolated and uneducated when I first felt sick and when I first got diagnosed, and I never want anyone else to feel like that.
Defining Crohn's: Nineteen Words that Changed My Life
So, ask me a question. Tell me what you learned. #WorldIBDday#IBDawareness #NeveStayQuiet #SuperGWG
