A Thank You Note

I meant to write this quite a few days ago, but I got in a bit of a fight with an avocado, in which the avocado won, sending my knife through the pit and into the palm of my hand - 3 stitches, so now I'm typing mainly with my right hand and the ring finger on my left. Fun thing about injuring yourself as a crohnie? I'm on so many immunosuppressants that for precaution, they put me on an antibiotic just because my chance of infection is much greater than that of a "normal" person. Also, it will probably take twice as long to heal. Oh well.

Anyway, I wanted to write about support systems, and how grateful I am for the people in my life.

Technology has unleashed a new way to connect with people. Through Crohnology, Crohns Forum, and Twitter, I have been able to connect with so many fellow crohnies, which has been phenomenal. It can be hard to be sick on the daily when no one around you knows truly how you feel. Even just simple days where I just feel tired, it can be hard to explain to those around you, or rather, it can be hard to complain to them.

I do have to admit, though no one I surround myself with regularly has Crohn's Disease, I have been blessed with a fantastic group of supports, that I can only hope every fellow crohnie has. My family and friends have all taken on the burden of worrying about me when I am with them (without treating me like I am "sick" - very grateful for that tidbit) and being there for me. Most importantly, I have to be appreciative of my boyfriend, whom I spend most of my time with, thus he gets the grunt of the disease. He gets those moments where I wake up feeling in pain and defeated, so sick of crohn's and medications that I just break down crying, and simply holds me until I calm down a bit, and then forces me to delve into an activity, knowing just lying in bed is not going to make me feel any better. I know those times are hard for him. It's hard to know what to say to someone when that happens, but he handles me perfectly. He has been the definition of patient and understanding and I honestly don't know what I would do without him. To all of my fellow crohnies I hope that you too have found someone that can handle you at your best and worst through dealing with this disease - not just significant others, maybe a parent, a best friend, a sibling - no matter who, I hope you have a someone, because even with all of my distant online friends, there is nothing to replace the comfort of having someone comfort you when you need it.