Signs You Might Be a Crohn's Disease Warrior
If your medical file has ever been mistaken for the Los Angeles area phone book, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever texted or called your gastroenterologist on his personal phone on a weekend or holiday, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever sat through school/work/a meeting/church/a date while experiencing pain that ranks eight or above out of 10 on a pain scale, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever been given the stink-eye for being late for church, work, your child’s school, a doctor appointment or a meeting (because you were, once again, in the bathroom), you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever coached another person through the colonoscopy prep and procedure because you’re a pro at it, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you arrive at a new place and immediately have to scope out all bathrooms and mentally time the walking/running distance, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you have wicked abdominal scars – and call them war wounds – you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever shared about your bowel movements in great detail in a Facebook group, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever crawled through your house to the couch/your bed/the bathroom because you’re in so much pain, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever been angry, frustrated and in tears because you have this stupid disease but you pick yourself up and do your best to keep moving anyhow, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever had to insist that something really is wrong because the doctors/nurses/ER staff aren’t taking you seriously, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever been told “it’s just stress” (before you were diagnosed), you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you’ve ever been told “it’s food poisoning” when it’s later discovered it was a life-threatening obstruction, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you have a regular wardrobe and a “when on Prednisone” wardrobe, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you feel like the only person who can really understand what you go through on a daily basis is another Crohn’s warrior, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you worry your children might develop this disease someday and pray they don’t, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you carry Poo-Pourri in your purse, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
If you battle every day to keep yourself going, encourage others like you, advocate for others and pray for a cure, you might be a Crohn’s warrior.
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Melanie Pickett is a writer, speaker, and blogger. She shares about her domestic abuse survival and journey to healthy relationships at melaneispickett.com. Melanie is also a regular contributor to the mental health blog Defying Shadows, and has been featured on Sonoma Christian Home, Splickety Magazine, Whole Magazine, and Breathe Writers Conference blog. She makes her home in west Michigan with her two amazing children, adoring husband, and quirky pug.
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