Saturday, July 29, 2017

You Might Be A Crohnie

If when you get a burst of energy you squeeze in as much housework as you can before getting exhausted and have to rest again...
...you might be a Crohnie

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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Yes....I'm Fine


Ah...the proverbial answer to the question, "how are you?" .... I'm fine. 
And it's not a lie.  Not really.  If I wasn't "fine" I'd be in hospital, generally.  
And in that case it would be:

Please rip out
All my
Intestines
Now!

I haven't felt THAT way in quite sometime now (knock on wood) thanks to Remicade, but as we all know, it can change in an instant.  But when I say "I'm fine" it means I'm fine for "ME".
The Crohn's is tolerable and manageable and I'm doing "fine".

Then again, if I'm not "fine" I will probably tell you I'm "fine" because...really....I don't want to talk about it.  So "fine" is the defense mechanism.  Ninety-eight percent of the time, I really don't want to talk about it and the other two percent I'm too sick to talk about it.

And really...if I was asked "how are you?" and I gave a long answer as to why I'm NOT fine...would you really understand?  Or would you just listen politely nodding your head and after I'm finished telling you how well I'm not feeling, you're just going to say, "sorry, I wish there was something I could do or say to make you feel better".  So unless you have the "cure" or have just won the lottery and are giving me some so I never have to work again...

"I'm fine, thanks" 

.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Road Trip (Crohnie Style)

Long gone are those spur of the moment road trips.  Now it's days of planning and lists.  Take for example our recent family 3000 km, 8 day road trip.
Planning the route is simple.  We are making 7 total overnight stops in 6 cities/towns.  Sounds simple enough.  Except, I also noted each hospital or heath centre in each of those places and the GPS notes gas stations and places to eat, not necessarily for gas and food, but for the washrooms. I generally avoid eating while driving, or at least eat very very light until we get to our stop.
Packing for the wife and kids is fairly straight forward...then there's me.  I make sure I have at least one pair of underwear for each day, plus extra just in case.  I think I packed 11 plus 5 pairs of shorts, cuz you just never know if you have an accident or not. Also not to forget my B12, D and fish oil tablets, not to mention my Imuran. Oh yeah!!, and my new favorite toiletry--- poopourii spray for the toilet.  Works great.  I also can't forget my pad for the hotel beds that I got from the hospital for those nights you might have an accident.
So of course the morning we head out....I wake up with a head cold (which I still have) and the peri anal abscess acting up....greeeeeat.  But we Crohnies sometimes just have to soldier on.  It was a family vacation and we can't disappoint the ones we love.
We have a comfortable Toyota Rav4 so the drive was great and made it to our first stop over in about 8 hours and I needed the lie down because the next day was a lot of walking.  We drove through Jasper National Park and stopped to walk on Athabasca glacier, so cool and so beautiful and after a few more stops in the Rockies and some hiking, the next stop by that evening was a welcome relief and the bed was soooooo inviting, not to mention the toilet.  The abscess became larger the next night in Edmonton, Alberta but luckily drained on its own the following morning in time to go to West Edmonton Mall to shop and my kids could enjoy the attractions.  But after 7 hours of walking around, along with the coughing still from my cold, my body was done in and couldn't wait to rest. Onward the nest day to more sites in Drumheller, Alberta to see the dinosaurs and the Hoodoos (naturally sculpted rock formations).  My kids enjoyed climbing as I stayed below, but that's okay, as long as they enjoyed themselves, that's what matters.  I don't like having my illness affect their enjoyment.  The dinosaur museum was cool, but the hotel was a welcome relief for my bones that's for sure.  On to Calgary, Alberta next day and the Calgary Zoo.  I never realized how large this place was!!  Worth seeing, but next time I think we would do it in 2 days instead of one, especially with and abscess between your legs!! Banff, Alberta the next day and the beautiful National Park.  Its such a great mountain village to walk through with spectacular views and blue blue water.  Not a bad day health wise.  Last day was the drive home after letting the boys have one last swim in the pool.  Needless to say they didn't want to go.
Each of the 8 days, the abscess got big, but then drained and I must have lost about 5-10 pounds by only eating sparsely during the day and only really eating dinner time.  But I never really felt hungry.  Maybe because I drank alot of water....alot.
Overall a great family trip.  I would do it again.  With my fingers crossed my health holds.  At least doesn't get worse than what it is.  I always have it in the back of my mind, it never leaves.
Oh yeah.... and yes, I used 10 of the 11 pairs of underwear.

Sunday, July 2, 2017

You Might Be A Crohnie

If you know the difference between a fissure, a fistula and an abscess AND know how to deal with each one
... you might be a Crohnie