So, I guess I’m taking a brief study break. Yeh, that’s what we’ll call it. If you’re fairly familiar with my blog, you know that my posts may be deep, intentional, random, silly, etc. This probably falls somewhere in the category of random . . . and rambling. Yesterday, we took a short family trip so my mom had a rare opportunity to visit with her siblings, specifically my aunt whose life has been significantly impacted by multiple sclerosis. My hope for the day was that I would make it back to campus by 8 or 9 p.m., so I Read More
Tag: Crohn’s Disease
Happy(?) Anniversary…
I’m typing this post around 10:35 p.m. (CST). Around this time on this date 20 years ago, I was recuperating from a major emergency surgery. I was in my second semester of my freshman year of college and had visited Health Services about a week before the surgery and had been diagnosed with the stomach flu. When the symptoms didn’t go away, I returned to Health Services and was diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. I was told that I needed surgery like yesterday, so I returned home to Chicago for the procedure. There’s a really interesting story that I’m skipping Read More
I think I can…well, sort of…maybe later?
So this is sort of a combination vent session/actual blog post. Anyone who has read my blog by now knows that I have Crohn’s Disease and knows the complications that come with it. (If you don’t know these things, you’ll have to read the old posts and catch up on your own. I’m too busy venting to give you a recap.) So, with the Crohn’s my “normal” is about 80%…if I’m lucky. That means, I have to go through my day and exert the same amount of mental and physical energy as my coworkers and seminary colleagues despite coming into Read More
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
Apparently, Invisible Illness Awareness Week was September 11th-18th. During this week, “prominent” bloggers were asked to post their responses to the following questions. Though I am nowhere near prominent when it comes to blogging, I wanted to do my part to raise awareness of these issues. 30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know 1. The illness I live with is: Crohn’s+ (Crohn’s is known to come with “extraintestinal” complications such as inflammatory arthritis, which I also have). 2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 1993. 3. But I had symptoms since: around 1980ish. 4. The Read More
My Life with Crohn’s
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 Read More
Sometimes, I don’t like to share…
There’s a Honey Nut Cheerios commercial that promotes the fact that they’re not just good for you but taste good, too. The commercial is set in a restaurant, and the waitress brings the order to a table of about six people. Everyone’s getting a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, but they’ve ordered either “the yummy cereal” or “the heart-healthy cereal.” (I had to paraphrase because I couldn’t find the video online.) After everyone digs in and praises their food choice, one patron looks at one of his companions and says, “Can I try yours?” This is a favorite question of Read More
Nilwona: A True Story
I am in a season of transition, and it has resulted in quite a bit of personal reflection and inventory. At various times in the past few months, I have been given opportunities to share bits and pieces of my story with others. It never fails, people are amazed at the things I share. There are many pieces of my life that I have been quite transparent in communicating. However, there are other parts that I’ve shared in a more opaque way. (Thanks, Rev. Carey, for that nugget of wisdom!) Over the past couple of weeks (and more specifically, the Read More