I have Crohn's. Does my daughter also?

My daughter Arabella is only 4 years old; she only just had her birthday 2 weeks ago.

Since she was barely 2, she'd been having diarrhea for quite some time. We'd see many doctors but her symptoms were just dismissed. Getting in to see our normal GP was ridiculously hard as he is extremely popular. Eventually, she started vomiting and I took her to the Emergency Department.

A dismissive doctor

However, the doctor was an a**hole. I was so desperate at that point for them to just do something! Take her blood, test her poo, just give me some freaking answers!!! But he didn't; he only did a urine test and dismissed it as a virus.

I told him he was f*c%ing wrong. It's been going on too long and a urine test isn't enough. He told me what did I expect on a Sunday... Maybe he should have rethought his career in patient care?!

Concerned that my daughter has Crohn's disease

Finally, I took her to our doctor again and that he said from the beginning he was concerned it might be Crohn's. He thought my baby has Crohn's disease. Off to the Pediatric specialist we go.

In the meantime, I broke down. I had an EPIC meltdown at work and was inconsolable, shaking and couldn't breathe. I had an anxiety and panic attack.

I cried and cried on the disabled bathroom floor. I rocked and rocked and cried some more.

People would offer the best support they could but it would only leave me frustrated at their ignorance. Their silver lining was that I would be the best support and guide for her. What kid hears her mother when she says she understands? None! And knowing what it's like to be in the depths of a Crohn's flare doesn't ease me but throws me back into a cycle of anxiety and panic.

I thought I'd have another 15 years before potentially dealing with this, then there'd be a cure.

Anxious about her symptoms and complaints

Luckily, after her colonoscopy, she was given the all-clear; she didn't have Crohns disease. Phew, I was beyond relieved and soon after, the diarrhea stopped!

But...

Slowly her complaining about a sore tummy started again. I've asked her to show me where it hurts exactly and taken her back to the doctors again but like last time, they don't think she has Crohn's. They've suggested a food diary and trying an elimination diet. It's now at the point where she complains daily and sometimes multiple times a day.

I never want to seem like a helicopter, over-anxious, overzealous mama who drives herself into a panic, but every squint and reactive move she makes, my heart sinks into the cavity that my own bowel used to live...

Advocating for answers

Shaking that off isn't easy and it's a fight between those anxieties and knowing that I am my daughter's biggest advocate. At the end of the day, if I just listen to the dismissals and it is the beginnings of Crohn's disease - even this young, I would never forgive myself.

We know our children, we know our own bodies better than anyone else. It is important that when we know something isn't right, we don't allow ourselves to be pressured into submission and silence.

Fight for your babies like you would want for yourselves; no one else can do it better. Because no one else does it with love.