Tag: chronicillness

Last week I went to my great aunt’s funeral. She was terminally ill and bedridden for the last ten years of her life. After surviving a stroke, she could no longer speak and eventually lost her battle with cancer. It was hard for me to visit her because growing up she was such a boisterous woman and to see her so fragile, it saddened my heart. I believe that the last 10-15 years of her life would have been more pleasant if she received proper care/treatment, but insurance is a bitch. After her stroke, once her insurance no longer covered physical therapy she stopped going. When she started chemo for cancer, her body could not handle it, so she stopped treatment.  She was suffering for a long time and like many of my family members, we were sad but relieved that she was no longer in pain.  At the funeral, one of my cousins spoke about the last conversation she had with our aunt before she became terminally ill.  My aunt told her, “if you don’t feel well, get yourself checked out, don’t ignore it.”

Those were some powerful words. You have to take care of yourself. I know having Crohn’s will always be a battle, but my goal is to live the most comfortable life as possible. I am grateful for the insurance I have and even though my GI drives me crazy, I am grateful that I have been seeking some type of treatment. There are different treatments for IBD, and standard drugs (Aminosalicylates & Corticosteroids) is my first choice. Has it worked so far? No, but hopefully biologics will work *fingers crossed* You can only live one day at a time, trying not to stress thinking about the future.

Remaining hopeful.