Some of the things they never told me when I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis were things like I will be chained to a bathroom for the rest of my life without modern medicine, there is a chance of ending up with an ostomy bag for the rest of my life, my professional life will be limited by the condition of my disease, and lastly, the heaviest medication we can put you on will give you the immune system of a 90-year old. These are just some of the things you don’t really think about when you are first diagnosed with a disease. Truthfully, I guess if someone came out and told me all of this at once, it might’ve been way too much for me, resulting in my rocking back and forth on the bathroom floor while humming the Flinstones theme song. Yet, now that I know what I know, and have been through what I’ve been through, I know that these things are all conquerable. It surely doesn’t seem like it, especially when you are going through it at the exact moment in time, but trust me, it can be overcome.
I decided today that I would take a different approach to what I wrote. Normally I try to keep it in the sport and fitness domain, yet I find myself continually being reminded that before anyone can get to participating in sport and fitness, they must first go through their diagnosis and come to terms with a new way of life. This can sometimes include an adjustment to new medication or new quality of life (before it improves of course). Either way, there is no easy transition from disease onset to sport participation, I won’t hide that or claim that it’s as easy as A-B-C. After all, I’m not selling anything, and I detest the people that promise fast results with little effort. One thing I have learned is that anything really worth doing requires a decent amount of effort, and the good repercussions aren’t always instantaneous. But enough with the preaching about effort, my different approach today has to do with the hurdles I’ve faced, and continue to face, with my disease. I think it is important to realize that not every disease is curable, and there are life-long battles you deal with, but these battles are winnable. So, shall we begin?
Now, the first three things that I mentioned above I have talked about before, so I will only go over them quickly. These three things were things that I had to face all within the first two years of my diagnosis. The biggest, most important thing to remember, no matter what you are facing, is that there is always a work around. Think of it like a game of chess, or Jiu-Jitsu (where I learned it): For every move there is a counter, and for every trap there is a way out, all you have to do is breathe, slow down, and come at it from a different angle. So let’s tackle these three problems. Being chained to a bathroom is a huge life-changing condition. But it’s not insurmountable. The first key is to accept that this is happening and then the solutions materialize. I started planning my day in ways that I knew if I needed a bathroom, there was always one close by. That might mean investigating the route of travel for the next day, or avoiding certain scenarios, but for me it is completely worth it to know that I am safe during the day. As for the ostomy bag issue, that is one that I don’t worry about because that day is not here. For those of you who do not know what an ostomy bag is, it is basically a whole that is put into your intestines where a bag is attached. The bag collects all fecal matter. Just the idea that this MIGHT happens can cripple anyone, but the important thing is to not worry about things until they happen. It took me 3 months to stop worrying about this. Worry about things as it is happening, not what could happen.
Let’s tackle the big one then. The single biggest factor I never saw coming was the fact that the most effective medication I have taken is also super effective at destroying my immune system. What this means is that I have an immune system equivalent to either a 90-year old senior, or a day year old infant. I may be exaggerating a little bit, but you get the point; my immune system is in the gutter. Furthermore, what does this mean for my day to day life. Truthfully, it has no major implications on my daily life other than I now incorporate, to the best of my abilities, things that will boost my immune system. Of course, this involves being active, but also adding things like garlic and honey into my diet, getting proper sleep, and doing my best to avoid situations to increase my risk of getting sick (i.e. going out in the cold without a jacket). These things have become top priority for me as when I get sick, I get very sick. Let me show you into my last week. Last week I started to get sick. You know, the common signs of a cold, sore throat, itchy ears, and a runny nose. The next day they got worse, but nothing new. The day after though, my ear decided to fill up and I lost hearing in one ear. I went straight to the clinic where the doctor told me I had Thrush, a sickness that infants and the elderly are susceptible to….great. The doctor gave me a prescription of antibiotics, but those are risky when you are on the type of medication I am on and the doctor told me to hold off 2 days to see if my body would fight it on its own. Well, it didn’t. I got substantially worse and developed a fever over the course of those two days, with the infection spreading into my eye. Well, off to the ER I went and long story short, I should’ve taken antibiotics after that first doctor visit.
The problem is, I can’t blame that first doctor as she was simply looking out for me, my body just sucks. All of this happened because I slipped up. I had started a new job, with early hours. I didn’t eat enough, didn’t drink enough water, didn’t work out, and most importantly, didn’t sleep enough. All these factors contribute to getting sick. It’s absolutely terrible. That’s where the lesson lies. It only takes a week of falling off the wagon to get really sick. I’m now on day 7, with a chance of missing my own graduation, with a sickness that normally only has people out for a day or two max. Here I am, having to call in to work, basically on a diet of popsicles and tea, wishing to get better by tomorrow. This was all avoidable. So my message in this long winded speech, don’t fall off the wagon. Work hard every day at keeping your health as top priority. It’s terribly hard, I know truly, but it is worth it at the end of every day.
This isn’t to say you can’t live your life. I look at all the facets of health as pillars to staying healthy, and not getting sick. You can sacrifice one pillar to live life. It’s your daughter’s wedding day? Eat the damn cake. Feeling exhausted, go ahead skip the gym this one time, just don’t make it a habit. We can’t always be perfect, in fact, I don’t know a single perfect person. We are all bound to make mistakes, just try not to knock down all the pillars at the same time… like I did. So at the end of the day, you have to take care of yourself. Health is a fragile thing, yet the human body is dynamic. It can go through a walloping but that doesn’t mean you have to take the walloping. Give your body the best chance you can at living an exciting life. Stay healthy, and go on adventures, get out there and live to the fullest in all that you can.