MR. CROHN AND ME
Over time I noticed that it’s hard to understand what it is to live with an IBD, unless you have one or you’re really close to someone who has one. Actually, how could people know I was experiencing all this? Crohn’s disease isn’t visible, so if I don’t talk about it, no one knows I suffer from it. And, between you and me, Crohn’s disease is far from being glamour. Intestinal problems are taboo. It’s not something we should talk about in public.
Living with this disease for ten years has been quite the adventure:
I’ve lived with constant pain. However, I told my doctor I was fine. After being sick for this long, I didn’t have a choice but to put up with the pain.
I had a specific diet. If you were told that you can’t eat any more fruits and raw vegetables, but instead you have to eat Froot Loops like cereals when you’re ten years old, you would probably jump for joy, just like I did. However, this diet combined with the large doses of cortisone made my face look swollen, like a squirrel. When I was a teenager, living like this made me really sad.
I had to go to the hospital once a month to keep the disease in check.
I was always scared that something bad could happen to me at any time, without me having control over anything.
I would always find the closest washroom first when going to public places.
I knew exactly how many washrooms there were between Beloeil and Sherbrooke because when you gotta go, you gotta go.
I had to sit in a seat at the edge of a row at the theatre, because I didn’t know when I would need to get up and go to the washroom.
I could have a panic attack when finding out the tickets I bought for a show were located in the middle of the venue. You think it’s nothing to worry about? It always is for someone with Crohn’s disease.
I experienced a lot of stress. Unfortunately, Crohn’s disease is strongly related to stress management. Because the disease made me feel stressed, I had to deal with the consequences this had on my health.
What was the most difficult for me was not being in control of my life. The disease controlled me and restrained me in multiple activities. When, at 20 years old, you can’t go out with your friends in case an accident occurs, you really start wondering where you will go next.
For me, living with Crohn’s disease has been all of this and more. But you know what “Crohn”? I’m not mad at you anymore because you made me become the person I am today.