Last year, I committed to sharing more about my life with Crohn’s, in an effort to raise awareness. I decided that today was as good a time as any. The thought for this post came about as I was thinking about how I’m going to survive this particular semester. So here are some random peeks into my life with Crohn’s:
- My day has to begin at least two hours before my first appointment. This is so I can give my body time to decide how it’s going to respond to waking up and to breakfast. This semester, I have an 8 a.m. class two days a week. That means that my day has to begin by 6 a.m. And that doesn’t even guarantee success.
- Eating away from home (and going out in general) means being aware of where public restrooms are located. It also means not having the luxury of waiting out my body’s response to food. This is one reason why, when friends want to do dinner and a movie, I prefer to do the movie first. Because, hopefully, I’ll be heading home soon after dinner.
- At any given moment, I could experience any number of intestinal complications – from severe cramping to any of the symptoms from the catchy Pepto Bismol jingle.
- Whenever traveling away from home requires an overnight stay, I prefer to stay by myself, with access to my own bathroom. Because, when I gotta go, I gotta go. (This is also one reason I prefer to live alone. When I get married, a second bathroom is a must-have.)
Dealing with all of these issues usually results in me coming across as flaky and/or antisocial because: 1.) I’m hesitant to make solid plans, 2.) I’m hesitant to agree to accommodations that involve sharing a bathroom and 3.) I sometimes have to cancel plans at the last minute (which is why I’m hesitant to make solid plans).
Keep in mind that this is just my experience. Crohn’s affects different people in different ways, with varying levels of severity. My condition has worsened over the years; yet, I’m still in better shape than many others. So. There you go.