Living

In March, my husband and I brought home a 6 week old puppy. Ollie is the cutest thing we have ever seen, and he has been an incredible addition to...

The other day I was watching one of my favorite shows. It's a medical show. A guy came in with many issues and soon told the doctors that he'd had...

I totally get those who say that they don’t want to have children because of how hard it is to just care for themselves with IBD. I get those who...

I knew someone a while ago. She and I actually met in the hospital. She was special. She was sick. So was I. She wasn't the first person to understand...

So often, we see infographics and articles that tell loved ones of those with illness what NOT to say. I've got some of those, but today, I want to talk...

With IBD, I’ve found that it's the little things that matter most. In fact, I’ve learned that something as insignificant as a hashtag can make a great and lasting impact...

Read part one here: A Hard Life Part 1 So there I was. Alone. Sitting in a tub full of running water. Nothing but an ostomy bag and belt on...

The past few nights I've laid awake in bed. Holding on tightly to my pregnancy pillow. Feeling my baby girl kick and punch her way around my abdomen, as another...

Most people who have suffered from a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) for a significant amount of time have seen countless doctors of a wide range of specialties. A...

Twenty days on life support was the result of Crohn’s. MERSA and staff infection had taken over my body in the spring of 2007, and my body could not keep...

In my last post, I talked about Securing ADA Accommodations at Large Events, and listed some of the benefits to asking for assistance when navigating events with Crohn’s disease and...

Recently, I was asked how living with an invisible illness affects my daily life. I have to be completely honest, upfront before I say anything else. My response to this...

Earlier this year, in order to avoid a colonoscopy, I participated in a non-invasive test that would provide real-time pictures of my insides. The results provided good news. Yet, it...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be difficult to understand, let alone explain to other people. Not to mention, there tends to be a lot of confusion among the general public...

For years, I struggled to figure out what went wrong with my surgeries. Why did I spend over a year fighting for my life, while many were successful right off...

You're gone. It hurts. Well mentally. It hurts mentally because you were actually the cause of my physical pain. There are days I wish I was normal. I wish you were normal...

Am I the only one who's a bit of a phone addict? Perhaps it's the fact that so much of our support for the illness can be accessed on our...

I got my PICC line about 2 months ago after several hospital stays during the month of April. Due to the only very small veins in my hands and feet...

In my last post, I talked all about how to plan a destination wedding with IBD. I realized that offering suggestions on packing for an 8-day trip was a longer conversation...

I admit I have been an extremely selfish person over my lifetime. I’m very giving, but I can also be extremely selfish at times. I realize I have a chronic...