Looking Back....

Wow!

I guess I am "blogging".  I suppose this makes me an official "blogger".  Never done this before, but I am determined to step out of my comfort zone and give it a shot.  People have told me for years that I should write a book after all I have been through in my 37 years on this earth.  I certainly don't have the time or the energy to write a book, so this blog will have to suffice.  :)

Looking back on 2010, I would have to rank it right up there at the top of my "Most Lousy Years Ever" list.  Seriously though.  It was.  The diagnosis of Crohn's Disease invaded my life in 2010.  When I say "invaded" that is precisely what I mean.  INVADED.  Apparently, I have been living with this intrusion for more than a decade.  It reared its ugly head from time to time, but little did I know the damage that was occurring within my body.

Oh YEAH...you know what Crohn's is, right?  It's that little disease that upsets your stomach and makes you poop alot.  WRONG. "Can't you just watch what you eat?"  was one of the most common questions I would face after diagnosis.  Ha!  WRONG AGAIN. Don't I wish it was as easy as changing my diet?  That would have been relatively simple.  However, one thing I noticed over the years was that when I increased the amount of fruits and vegetables in my diet, it didn't work out so well.

You see, this silent beast is lurking in my body and will until the day that I die.  There is no cure for Mr. Crohn's.  He comes and goes as he pleases, attacking my gut and my joints when he feels like making me miserable.  My intestines view all sorts of good nourishment  (i.e. food) as "foreign".  The response is a major inflammatory process, which over time, destroys sections of my intestines.  In addition to attacking my intestines, my joints are a favorite hiding place for Mr. Crohn's.  He wreaks havoc on every single joint in my body on a bad day.  The inflammation becomes so intense, it can knock me to my knees.  And I, am one tough cookie!  :)

Hence the name, "IronCrohnie" that I picked for this blog.  Last May (2010), I joined a little elite group that call ourselves an "Ironman".  To earn this title, you must swim 2.4 miles in an open body of water, jump out of the water and get on your bike.  You ride for 112-miles, rack your bike, lace of your running shoes, and head out for a marathon (26.2 miles).  You must do all of this in 17 hours or less to earn the coveted title of an "Ironman".

Some of you are wondering WHY ON EARTH anyone would be insane enough to subject their body to that kind of torture.  To us, we wouldn't have it any other way.  We love it, and we live to swim, bike and run.

I found it almost comical that I was struck by the freight train of a disease called, "Crohn's" right about the time I was supposed to be increasing my training volume for my first Ironman competition.  Most of you who know me, aren't' surprised.  If something bad is going to happen, it happens to me.  Like if someone is going to get run over by a trailer, it will happen to ME.  And yes, that has happened. I was run over by a trailer in 2005. I will share that story at a later date.

So, 2010 began with a bang.  I spent December of 2009 being sicker than ever before in my life.  I felt like I had the flu, along with severe back and abdominal pain.  I became a patient (and not the nurse like I was used to being).  I became a member of the"Chronic Disease for Life" club.

Treatment of Crohn's involves taking medication to suppress one's immune system.  The goal is to keep the body from attacking itself, or keeping the inflammatory response down, to avoid further damage from the disease. I now take a low dose of oral chemotherapy, and will for the remainder of my life.  The side effects are wonderful.  :)  I now have hair much thinner than ever before, and with a mind of it's own.  Little adjustments to the medications can cause major nausea, fatigue, and headaches for me.  However, the most recent increase in medication (two weeks ago) has left me feeling better than I have in the last ten years.  I cannot complain, and am grateful.

In any event, despite the diagnosis of Crohn's and despite starting 2010 with taking 24 (yes, 24) pills a day, I continued to train for my Ironman.  I would be an "IronCrohnie", that's all.

At that time during my life, I decided NOW more than ever, was the time I needed to be physically and mentally strong/fit.  There was no better way (in my warped mind) to do so, than continue down the path that I had already started.  I had a commitment to fulfill, and I was going to do it....against all odds!  One thing about me is that I do love to prove people wrong.  Tell me I can't do something because of my ailments, and I will do them ten times.  I will NOT let this disease define me.

I will close for now because it is getting late.  My plan is to post a little here and there to share my experiences as an athlete with a chronic illness.  I believe that nothing can stop us from achieving our goals and our dreams.

So whatever it is you are "thinking" about doing....what are you waiting for???