My journey began just under two years ago. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in April 2012. I had been sick for several months preceding that and after numerous tests, I finally had a diagnosis. I was immediately placed on steroids as treatment. The initial diagnosis was difficult for me to hear. I have always been a pretty healthy child and to hear the doctor's word of autoimmune disease and no cure was difficult. Crohn's Disease is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in any and every part of the digestive tract. Crohn's Disease currently has no cure and researchers are looking for an exact cause of the disease. They speculate that the environment and genetics both contribute to the equation. My mom and I immediately began research Crohn's regarding treatments, diet, and lifestyle. After talking with my doctor, we realized that there is no one particular diet for a Crohn's patient but is a series of trail and error. I will write a separate post about diet and the role it has played for me. I did have to adjust my lifestyle with this new thing called Crohn's Disease. The one thing that I had to hold onto during this adjustment period was that God had a plan and purpose for this trail. I knew he would turn this for my good.
I continued on a high dose of steroids for several months. I have a love hate relationship with this drug. My love is that it can help with my Crohn's symptoms within a short period of time. I hate the drug because of the nasty side effects of the drug. Rapid heart rate, never ending hunger, bloating, emotional highs and lows, and many others. I had a scare with the chest pains and rapid hear rate that landed me in the ER at one point. After several unsuccessful attempts to wean me off steroids, surgery was deemed the best option for my case. I have to admit, this decision was really scary. I wasn't sure what to expect and had heard many horror stories, but I knew the Lord had a plan and purpose for it all. I had to trust His timing and His plan for my life. His promises carried me through this tough and scary time in my life.
"Cast your burden on the Lord,
and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."
Psalm 55:22
I had surgery in July 2012 to remove a portion of my small intestine and colon. The doctors were impressed with my faster than normal recovery and short hospital stay after my surgery. All the credit goes to God, because there is no human explanation for the remarkable recovery and surgery. I flared relatively quickly after surgery and began to see a specialist in Pensacola, Florida. We quickly began the process for insurance approval for a drug called Remicade. This is a drug in the immunosuppressant category that is infused over a several hours every four to eight weeks. After being approved for the drug, I began Remicade infusions in October 2012. It wasn't the easiest thing at the beginning because I had a reaction to the drug during the three hour infusion. This reaction was eased the next times as the doctors played with a pre-med combination that would help. After a few infusions, they began to get easier as I adjusted and my body got used to the medicine. At this point I was mentally exhausted and all I wanted was to feel like a "normal" college student. Laura Story's song, Blessings was one that I would blare when I felt like everything was coming down around me. The Lord would remind me of His grace and promise with the little moments or the silver lining in the clouds. That silver lining for me would be a weekend I felt good enough to spend with friends or the ability to finish all of my school work and not miss a single class that week. I held onto these glimpses of His promise for my life.
"The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
He cares for those who take refuge in Him.:
Nahum 1:7
The holiday season of 2012 was my first since being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and it was rough at first. I learned my lesson of avoiding trigger foods at Thanksgiving after ending up in the emergency room. The combination of finals stress and the high fiber trigger foods costed me a trip to the hospital. I was able to travel home and enjoy Christmas with my family in Ohio before returning back to school in Mobile. I continued through spring semester I only hit a few bumps in the road with an infection and having outpatient surgery for the placement of a port. The port would make it easier to administer my infusions that I was receiving every six weeks.
During the Spring of 2013 and into the Summer, I finally began to feel pretty good again. My infusions were becoming easier and I was adjusting to my life with Crohn's disease. I continue to receive Remicade infusions. This Fall, a rhemutologist diagnosed my chronic hip and joint pain as arthritis associated with Crohn's Disease. This added a new medication to my regimen, but I was glad to have an answer to my pain. I am not in a period of remission from the disease yet and that is ultimately the goal, but I am able to live a new normal. Some days I have more problems and pain than others. I have some really good days in which I feel like I don't even have Crohn's and other days all I want to do is stay home because of my pain. I still battle with low vitamin counts and other normal complications from Crohn's but overall I feel as if I have begun to adjust and live my new normal. I know that this is all in The Lord's timing.
"Rejoice always!
Pray constantly.
Give thanks in everything,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
The Lord has continued to bless me and His grace and love never cease to amaze me. I may not know exactly why I have Crohn's Disease and how the Lord plans to use it, but I know He will use it! He has given me the greatest support system of friends and family. I am continually blessed by their encouragement, support, and love! The Lord has truly blessed me beyond measure!
I know this was a super long post, but I look forward to blogging about my journey and how the Lord is working and using my Crohn's!
Super proud of you! God is good! I love you!
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