" >
Being sick is hard. It is a challenge not only to yourself but for all the people who care about you. But the worst part is feeling that you are sick and not knowing what it is. It can affect your emotional status and can threaten the environment and situation you are dealing with.
One of the most controversial topics today is Crohn’s disease. It is one of the hardest diseases to diagnose. You might have it, but you don’t know it yet. As reported by a patient who had it, it took her twenty years of consultations in hospitals and clinics and a lot of doctors before she was finally diagnosed. And by that time she already had the disease for almost six years. in fact, almost everyone who was diagnosed back then had the same story.
She was thirteen years old at the time when she started experiencing symptoms. She experienced joint pain, swelling in the hands, stomach pain and lethargy (tiredness all the time). She always felt ill and din’t know what to do. Even her Doctor could not tell what was wrong with her. The only thing that kept her fighting was the support from her family and doctors. So they kept trying and going to different doctors so they could reveal the mysterious disease she had. She was given every test you can think of and was diagnosed with everything from Juvenile Arthritis and Lupus to Kidney Disease and Leukemia. One of the challenging parts for her was when she was sent to see a child psychiatrist at the Sick Children’s Hospital because after so many years they still couldn’t figure out what was wrong and so it was thought that it may all just be in her head to avoid going to school.
Then her diagnosis finally came by accident. One time she was in another hospital for another series of tests, and they first noticed the familiar narrowing in her small intestine that lead to them finally put a name on the ailment which is called “Crohn’s Disease”. She didnt know what it was, but she was relieved since for so long, finally, she knew at least what the issue was.
Crohn’s disease is thought to be an autoimmune disease which effects the body’s immune system — which commonly affects the end of the small bowel (the ileum) and the beginning of the colon, but it may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract anywhere from mouth to anus. This disease varies from person to person so do not believe in the myth that Crohn’s Disease can be cured by eating a special diet and wheat products or junk food will make your symptoms worse. It all depends on the person experiencing the symptoms and how they can manage it on their own convenience with the help of course of Physicians. So let us respect the pain, because not everyone who doesn’t seem to be sick for a reason is necessarily just fine.
