The above statement reminds me of two things.
Keep Calm
It's a known fact that stress makes Crohn's and IBD worse. I know when I am upset I tend to get a stomach ache. When I am pissed off, my stomach feels like it's in knots. I started Prozac less than a month ago because I was not able to *Keep Calm*. The anxiety and stress of the holidays got the best of me. After a pre-Thanksgiving dinner meltdown, my mom politely told me that there is nothing wrong with taking medication to combat stress and anxiety. I made an appointment with my PA the following week and am so glad I did! So has keeping calm helped me? Absolutely! Less stress, less fights with Brad, my fuse isn't so short and little problems don't seem as bad...
Kick Crohn's Ass
I have no problem kicking ass. I try to do my best at everything I do. At work I strive to be number one in sales, at home I like to keep my house clean at all times, I try to be the best wife and step mom that I can be. For years I wasn't a good patient. As a 9 year old diagnosed with a chronic illness, I wasn't keen on taking pills. Hell, I never had swallowed a pill in my life. I hated blood tests, colonoscopys and the new diet I had to follow. It wasn't until I was in college that I decided it was best to embrace this ugly beast called Crohn's. I was so ill that I had to drop out of two separate semesters, was in the hospital a couple of times and even tried Remicade (though I had terrible side effects after the 3rd infusion). It was during my first infusion that I decided I was ready to *Kick Crohn's Ass*!! I wanted an ostomy. My surgeon had warned me that it was going to be my future. Any "normal" human being wouldn't beg to have their colon and rectum removed, but I'm not a normal human being. I wanted the disease G O N E. After begging my colorectal surgeon several times and finding out two weeks before my wedding (to my first husband- Brad is my second husband and love of my life) that I had pre, pre cancerous cells in my colon, I was bound and determine to kick Crohn's ass. While it wasn't critical to remove my colon and rectum that May 2001, it quickly became an urgent situation. In July that year I had what I call labor like pains. My abdomen felt like it was contracting every two minutes. I called my surgeon who told me to come in the next day. I was (and still am) living in Michigan but my doctors were still back home in Chicago. My dad came to pick me up and took me back to Chicago. As soon as I stepped foot in my surgeon's office that next day, I knew I wasn't leaving the hospital without having my colon removed. Two weeks later, after I was released from the hospital after having a colectomy, I had KICKED CROHN'S ASS.... until the next flare, that is. Three surgeries later, taking Humira and Imuran to combat this active disease. I am crime fighting Crohn's on a daily basis.
What do you to do kick Crohn's ass?
No comments:
Post a Comment