I Have Been Suffering From A Debilitating Disease For Most Of My Life
Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
by Susan Thom
No one knows what I go through, because I keep it to myself. My kids know I have Crohns, but I don't let them know when I'm having a really bad day with it. When someone has another more common disease, they tend to get more sympathy and understanding from their friends and family. Crohn's isn't really the type of disease that you'd like to share.
Stress is the worst thing for it, and I have been under stress my whole life. The therapy I have chosen Is Reflexology, and it is helping. More so my mind than my Crohn's, but the better and calmer I learn to think, the better my Crohn's will be.
There are some very cruel and misguided people who believe I am just lazy, and dont want to work. Funny, I started working when I was sixteen, and didn't stop until I was 28. I then cleaned houses for a while when i had kids, and was a Realtor.
When my kids were small, I cleaned a few houses, until the stress I was under made the Crohns flair up, and landed me in bed for many months. When I was finally able to get out of bed and slowly get better, I became a Realtor. There was a lot of running around, and stress over whether a deal was going to go through or not, and once again, I got sick, so I had to stop. I was weak, dehydrated, malnourished, and in a lot of pain. It pushed me back into bed for many more months.
If someone hasn't suffered this type of disease, they have no idea what one goes through. I would much rather work an eight hour day, than have this affliction twenty four hours a day, every day. And yet, I managed to go food shopping, run the errands, pay the bills, and take care of my children. I pushed myself to do these things even under extreme conditions. No one else was going to do it for me.
When someone is suffering, no matter what the reason, others should be grateful they're not the ones going through it, and never put someone down because their body just doesn't work right.
I loved being a Realtor for four years, I had nothing against working, getting dressed up every day, showing people houses. And everyone of my customers wanted me, and no one else, because they told me I was the only one who was honest, and showed them only those houses that fit their criteria. That made me very proud. But as my body started to break down again, and I started seeing gray spots in front of my eyes, and got dehydrated again and malnourished, I was back in bed.
So, now I do what I can, when I can, and accept the fact that I have a disease that I need to take care of, and working outside the home just isn't in the cards for me. I have worked in a kitchen at sixteen, at a shop-rite in junior and senior years of high school, and a few years beyond, in a bank, at a restaurant, and at the post office for seven years.
I was asked to quit working when I got married, and started having kids, and believe me, most of us know that there is no job harder than that. I was alone for two weeks at a time, and I took care of everything with ease. I have been doing so for twenty two years.
The hardest job in the world.
And yet, there are those who know nothing about Crohns, or its side affects, and wonder why I don't work. I feel sorry for those people because they dont have the facts, and yet, make judgment calls.
I know how I feel, I know what I can and cant do, and I will continuing doing so, taking care of my own health.
This Article has been viewed 814 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Thank you Dr. Doyle. i've been really trying to hang in there. divorce, no money, 3 kids moving out, chaos, but Reflexology and the woman who does it, has helped me immensely, i have to say. i have not been sick since going to her last June. i am much better off than people i have read about in chat rooms, which is why i don't go in them anymore, for obvious reasons, too depressing, i will succeed, i am determined, and i'll get past this being an obstacle in my life. thank you for reading my article and for posting a comment. much appreciated, best regards, sue thomPlease log in to respond to this comment.
I was diagnosed with this disease over 20 years ago. Had my guts ripped out at the tender age of 25 due to a blockage. It is a wonder how I work 7 days a week with the pain that this disease inflicts upon me. I don't say a word to anyone about the pain that I endure. No one understands the pain that one goes through with Crohn's Forget about the other issues that occur to the body when Crohn's flairs up. It is a very embarrassing disease. I do hope that one day there will be more education on Crohn's due to the fact that STILL people ask me what it is. I usually drop off the word disease, but once you tell people the symptoms, they roll their eyes saying "why can't you just hold it?" or "do you always have to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes?" Forget the pain that you get before and after.Please log in to respond to this comment.imma, i sympathize with you. no one knows what the next person goes through. i have learned to deal with it on my own, and go to reflexology, which helps, and try to stay strong, although every day, i'm weak! hang in there, there are those of us who DO know exactly what you are going through. with many other diseases, people talk about them, this isn't one you talk about. best regards, sue thomPlease log in to respond to this comment.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.