I’m delighted to invite Guest, John Bradley, to my Blog today. John has written a terrific new book “The Foul Bowel – 101 Ways To Survive And Thrive With Crohn’s Disease” .
But this is no medical misery book. Spiritually uplifting and, at times, downright hilarious, “The Foul Bowel” shows how “Crohnies” can take ownership for their illness and it’s treatment. The outcome is not just the feeling of triumphing over the medics – although that has its moments – but is a celebration of life as a “Crohnie” :
“Enjoy a better life with a chronic illness.
While we all strive to be healthy, for some of us, alas, it is no longer an option. A chronic illness such as Crohn’s Disease is, unfortunately, a condition for life. No-one knows the cause and there are huge variations in the course the illness takes. Repeated surgeries are the norm while daily life can be impacted by pain, malnourishment, lethargy and incontinence. It affects approximately 60,000 people in the UK, a number that has been rising by an extra 6,000 each year, and is a disease that strikes mostly between the ages of 12 and 24. People with Crohn’s can expect to live with it for over fifty years.
But while one’s health might not be ideal that does not mean that life cannot be enjoyed to the full. In my book, “The Foul Bowel: 101 Ways to Survive and Thrive with Crohn’s Disease”, I try to provide a perspective in my opening and closing messages that life as a “Crohnie” is what you make of it:
Tip #1: Take Your Pick
You have a choice how to be ill. You can attempt to carry on as though nothing is wrong and end up killing yourself in the process. Or you can be a victim, weeping and wailing “Why me?” at every turn and killing yourself spiritually in the process. Or you can be a Positive Acceptor: recognising that your Crohn’s is a card you have been dealt in the poker game of life, but one that will not take away your ability to play your hand to the full.
Tip #101: Don’t Look Back
Being ill is indeed a drawback if you spend all your time and energy looking back, thinking what life would have been like without illness. But when life with illness is spent looking forward, thinking about and preparing for the possibilities that life holds within the limits that your illness imposes, it is no drawback at all, it is just part of your life.
Over a seven-year period I had to see a lot of doctors and have my orifices endlessly probed before I was finally diagnosed at the age of 23 with Crohn’s Disease. Since then, I have spent almost thirty years dealing every day with life-changing implications of illness, drugs, medics and the not-so-occasional surgery. But, by learning to see the funny side of the ridiculous medical procedures we undergo; by being reminded each and every day of the value of good supportive relationships with family, friends and colleagues; by realising that Crohn’s Disease need not restrict the freedom we have to find our own path through life; by seeing that there are still opportunities to make good choices, Crohn’s patients can have as happy and fulfilled a life as anyone else. This is true despite having an endless cycle of symptoms, surgeries and drug regimes that healthy people would find appalling to contemplate.
Please – if there’s anyone in your family, or if you have friends or colleagues that have been diagnosed with Chrohn’s Disease – then please do tell them about John’s book and his website: www.foulbowel.com
Warm wishes.
Annie
