Hey You! Did you know that I have Crohn's Disease? Well, I do!
What is Crohn's Disease?
It's as ugly as it sounds! The textbook answer: Crohn's Disease is a lifelong inflammatory bowel disease. If you want to know more about it, then click here. My Crohn's Disease is different than most peoples. Most people lose weight... I gain weight. Most people always have diarrhea... I don't. Most people respond to treatment and surgery... I don't. Sucks to suck. lol.
Anyways, why am I writing this? Oh... because I'm in my feelings. Why am I in my feelings? Well, since you asked... :)
I'm chronically ill. I have a lifelong illness. It follows me wherever I go. And honestly, I'm cool with that. I can take the sick part of the illness but the way I get treated or don't get treated bothers me.
It shouldn't but it does.
I have found out that people do not really care about the chronically ill. If I told you that I had the flu, you would probably care and ask me did I need anything. If I told you that I was having surgery, you would probably care and ask me do I need anything. But I feel like people get used to me being sick, so they stop caring.
There is no shock factor in a chronic illness. It is always here.
The people around me have become desensitized to my struggle. It's cool though. Shrugs.
Maybe that is why us Crohnies stick together because "we all we got!"
If one of us ends up in the hospital, we are constantly reaching out and keeping them company. Why? Because the healthy don't usually visit the chronically ill in the hospital. Y'all go on about your life because you believe the hospital or a million doctor's visits is normal for us.
Well, it might be what we always do but we will never get used to it. It's never normal!
I just so happen to have an awesome support system. My mom and dad rock when it comes to handling me and my lifelong illness. They take me to every single doctor's appointment [[except the gynecologist... my daddy refuses to take me to the gynecologist. lol]] I also have friends who occasionally check in on my health. They are pretty awesome as well.
I guess the shock for me is Christians.
My unsaved friends look out more than my saved friends. [[I guess I need new friends, huh?]]
The church isn't set up for the sick.
Most of the time I cannot attend church is because I don't have enough energy to drive or because my medication won't allow me to drive. So... I end up missing church.
This is not new and I am not an outlier.
I find that a lot of the chronically ill wish to be active in church but they are not able to be because of their limitations. And the people who do go to church just carry on. They don't miss our presence. At least that is what it feels like.
You, as a church member, don't realize their absence because you are so consumed in your "position in ministry" or "serving others" that you don't realize you missed out on a great time to genuinely serve someone else. Ironic.
What is Crohn's Disease?
It's as ugly as it sounds! The textbook answer: Crohn's Disease is a lifelong inflammatory bowel disease. If you want to know more about it, then click here. My Crohn's Disease is different than most peoples. Most people lose weight... I gain weight. Most people always have diarrhea... I don't. Most people respond to treatment and surgery... I don't. Sucks to suck. lol.
Anyways, why am I writing this? Oh... because I'm in my feelings. Why am I in my feelings? Well, since you asked... :)
I'm chronically ill. I have a lifelong illness. It follows me wherever I go. And honestly, I'm cool with that. I can take the sick part of the illness but the way I get treated or don't get treated bothers me.
It shouldn't but it does.
I have found out that people do not really care about the chronically ill. If I told you that I had the flu, you would probably care and ask me did I need anything. If I told you that I was having surgery, you would probably care and ask me do I need anything. But I feel like people get used to me being sick, so they stop caring.
There is no shock factor in a chronic illness. It is always here.
The people around me have become desensitized to my struggle. It's cool though. Shrugs.
Maybe that is why us Crohnies stick together because "we all we got!"
If one of us ends up in the hospital, we are constantly reaching out and keeping them company. Why? Because the healthy don't usually visit the chronically ill in the hospital. Y'all go on about your life because you believe the hospital or a million doctor's visits is normal for us.
Well, it might be what we always do but we will never get used to it. It's never normal!
I just so happen to have an awesome support system. My mom and dad rock when it comes to handling me and my lifelong illness. They take me to every single doctor's appointment [[except the gynecologist... my daddy refuses to take me to the gynecologist. lol]] I also have friends who occasionally check in on my health. They are pretty awesome as well.
I guess the shock for me is Christians.
My unsaved friends look out more than my saved friends. [[I guess I need new friends, huh?]]
The church isn't set up for the sick.
Most of the time I cannot attend church is because I don't have enough energy to drive or because my medication won't allow me to drive. So... I end up missing church.
This is not new and I am not an outlier.
I find that a lot of the chronically ill wish to be active in church but they are not able to be because of their limitations. And the people who do go to church just carry on. They don't miss our presence. At least that is what it feels like.
You, as a church member, don't realize their absence because you are so consumed in your "position in ministry" or "serving others" that you don't realize you missed out on a great time to genuinely serve someone else. Ironic.
