Crohn's Dx

Crohn's disease. So yeah, as you may (or may not) have read in my earlier post...I have Crohn's. What is that you ask? Simply, a disease of the digestive tract. Plainly...mine doesn't always like to act right. Think stomach bug...x 1000000! Okay, so no, maybe it's not that bad, but it can be, has been and hopefully will never be again. I say that last part with real optimism and for good reason. I've had Crohn's for 15 years. Doesn't seem so long unless I put myself into the thoughts of any of my most recent flares. I was diagnosed at age 15, treated and remained in the care of some awesome doctors in Washington DC. I was well for a long time. As with any chronic disease though I had relapses. Again I was treated (surgically - on more than one occasion) and followed by those aforementioned great doctors.



Life changed though and I met the love of my life and we committed ourselves to one another in what I would call the wedding of my dreams. My love joined the United States Marine Corps, we married and we began our journey together. This meant moving to a new state and leaving my awesome doctors.



I have yet to find that same level of care. It didn't seem possible that any other doctors had both the bedside manner and level of expertise that my old doctors had. I got sick often but nonetheless kept positive. During this time, through the grace of God, I became pregnant twice and carried two little girls to term, delivering my precious angels, KayLee in 2006 and NataLee in 2007. My Crohn's got really mad at me during that first pregnancy and thankfully decided to give me a break during my second (I felt better during those 37 weeks than I had since before I was diagnosed).



As military life would have it, it was time to move again. As if my husbands recent return from Iraq (during which our 2nd baby was born...yes without him) wasn't enough. We embraced it though and off to Pensacola we went. And low and behold, again, no doctor(s) seemed good enough. I was even more disappointed here, than I was in North Carolina and I was in worse shape. Not a good time to dislike your Crohn's team. Regardless things were just too much and I underwent surgery again in August 2009. I still don't know know if it helped. I don't think I would have needed it if I were listened to and treated instead of tolerated.



Through my faith in God, love for my family and a desire to want more out of life, I decided to make a change. I found one good doctor (although not for my Crohn's, a hematologist who treated my anemia) and that lead to the finding of another. Hallelujah! This is a great source of joy to me. Why? Because I am finally being heard and I finally am starting to feel like myself. I think I have found a new doctor who seems to have both the bedside manner and expertise to get me well and help me stay that way. Yes, I do believe the word cure will grace my life one day soon.