Why I Run

I often get asked why I run? Why would I put my body through the training to be able to do triahlons and marathons and ultimately IronMan. Why would anyone put themselves though this? Why would you give the most precious commodity the we all have in our lives - time. Why would you want to give when Crohn's, the disease racking your body every day, only wants to take.

Put simply I run because I can. I say that not out of any type of arrogance but out of the knowledge that there was a time in my life that I was bedridden and simply struggled with the basics of life - and the unfortunate knowledge that I may one day return to that state. So here I am, Carpe Diem & running because, and while, I can.

Those of you who know me, know that I do not wear my Crohn's on my sleeve. I know that it influences my life and my daily decisions, but I refuse to allow it to define who I am. I am not a Crohn's patient who is able to do all of these things - I am a man who does all of these things and manages a medical aspect of his life. It is also fun to talk to people who we have known since we moved to Dacula (3 years ago), who have had some involvement in our lives and then find out "oh by the way, you know I have Crohn's, right?" It just doesn't come up and I refuse to be known as "that guy with Crohn's" - wow, I'm rambling.

But there are times when God opens up the Crohn's door for us to be a support to family and friends who are potentially struggling with this horrible disease. One of those doors has been open recently with some new friends in our Sunday School class.

Their son has been a pretty sick little boy and the docs just can't seem to get a handle on what it is. Any of you with Crohn's or Colitis understand this process. Test after test after test. His next test is tomorrow morning at 6am - the dreaded scopes (need I say more). Please be in prayer for this family and pray that the doctors can find what is going on. Only then can treatment truly begin. The unknown is the hardest part, but there is a possibility that this is Crohn's or Colitis.

I don't know if any of you will be willing to take time to do this tomorrow morning - but I'm going ask. I have been running in the morning and tomorrow, am scheduled to run 4 miles. My commitment is to run these 4 miles in honor of Chase, because I know that tomorrow morning at 6am, he can not run. I feel strongly the need to run for those who can't. Tomorrow is my hill run day - so I will have 4 miles of peaks and valleys of one on one...Me & God time to pray for this little guy. Any of you willing to dedicate your morning run miles tomorrow to Chase and to pray for him while you run.

If you can't run early at his procedure time - then just run anytime during the day. His mom and dad need your prayers all day long, just as much as he does. Pray for their peace.

I pray that God will guide the hands of the doctors to find out what is wrong. I pray with all my heart it is not Crohn's or Colitis - I would wish this disease on my worst enemy. But if it is, Then I pray that God will provide the love and support that this young man and his family need... right now.

Why do I run.... I do it for those who can't.

Running the Race

No updates from me in a while so I thought I would take a minute to share what is going on in my life & dealing with my Crohn's... This is cut from my personal blog, but I thought it might be relevant here today.

Wow... how time flies!!! Seems like no time ago I was just getting started back into running & here I am ready to head out to my first half marathon tomorrow in Chickamauga, GA. I know I am really bad about keeping these notes up to date, but I figured since the entire reason for starting this was to keep track of training progress to my running my first half marathon, I should at least update it today.

I started running again in September 2007 - with my motivation being to run with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Team at the ING Marathon in Miami last January. Well, with the best laid plans and intentions, I was not able to make that trip as life got in the way. But I found something in running, and that training, that I had forgotten about. There is a peace and clarity of thought for me when I run, that really doesn't come any other time. I think a lot of that is because I take my running time to get alone with God and just talking about... everything.

You have to keep in mind that up to this point in my life, I have not run in almost 18 years - since high school. Most of the reason I have not run is from fear of what running will do to my body because of my Crohn's. Fear of not finding a bathroom soon enough - fear of some adverse reaction to my medications while I run - fear of.....Crohn's. But as of late I have come to a realization that I refuse to live my life in fear and that even if all of these things do happen - I will not be a victim to Crohn's anymore.

So here's to the Battlefield half marathon... Ready to run. Pictures and commentary to follow after the race.

Gall Bladder Disease and Crohn's

I know a lot of people with Crohn's who when end up having Gall Bladder issues (myself and my sister included). So I thought I would do a little search and see what I could find about the subject and post it here.

Here is the link to where I found this:
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/gallbladderdisease.htm


Gallbladder Disease
Reviewed by Mr Robert Diggory, consultant general surgeon

What and where is the gall bladder?
The gall bladder is a small pear-shaped organ on the underside of the liver that is used to store bile. Bile is made in the liver and is stored in the gall bladder until it is needed to help the digestion of fat.

What is gallbladder disease?
Gallbladder disease is a common condition that affects mainly women, although men can suffer too. The symptoms vary widely from discomfort to severe pain which mainly begins after food. In severe cases the patient can suffer from jaundice, nausea and fever. The most common reason for gallbladder disease is gallstones.

What are gallstones?
Gallstones are solid stones formed in the gall bladder from cholesterol, bile salts and calcium. They can vary in size from a few millimetres to a few centimetres.

What causes gallstones?
Gallstones are formed when bile contains too much cholesterol. The excess cholesterol forms crystals from which gallstones are made.

Who is at risk of developing gallstones?
Gallstones are seen in all age groups but they are rare in the young. The possibility of developing gallstones increases with age.

The following groups are considered to be at increased risk:
people who have relatives with gallstones
obese people
people with a high blood cholesterol level.
women who take drugs containing oestrogen, eg contraceptive pills
people with diseases such as chronic intestinal inflammation (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis).

What are the symptoms of gallstones?
Not all gallstones cause symptoms and those detected during a scan performed for other reasons do not usually require treatment. This, however, should be discussed with your doctor.

Symptoms can be extremely variable, but usually present in one of three ways.

Chronic cholecystitis (biliary colic)This is a long-term inflammation of the gall bladder and causes:
sporadic pains in the middle of the upper abdomen, or just below the ribs on the right side
pain which becomes worse over an hour and then stays the same
pain that may spread to the right shoulder or between the shoulder blades
pain that can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting and sometimes excessive wind.An attack can last from a few minutes to two to three hours before getting better. The frequency and severity of attacks is very variable.Attacks can be triggered by eating fatty foods such as chocolate, cheese or pastry.It can be difficult to distinguish the pain from other diseases such as gastric ulcer, back problems, heart pains, pneumonia and kidney stones.

Acute cholecystitis (acute inflammation or infection of the gall bladder)
This condition results in:
persistent pain and a temperature lasting more than 12 hours
pain and tenderness under the ribs on the right side
pain that is made worse by movement or coughing.Patients with acute cholecystitis may not always have gallstones, but usually do.The condition must be treated by a doctor and usually requires admission to hospital. Treatment consists of a course of antibiotics. If this is not effective, emergency surgery may be required to remove the gall bladder.

Jaundice (yellow discolouration of the skin and whites of eyes)
This is caused when there is an obstruction to the flow of bile from the liver. Jaundice is not always caused by gallstones. The symptoms are:
increasingly yellow eyes and skin
skin can become itchy.
pale bowel motions and dark urine.

The condition is often preceded by symptoms similar to those of cholecystitis. Fever and shaking chills are serious symptoms and must be treated by a doctor - they are suggestive of infection travelling through the bile duct system.

I hope you find this info useful. There was a lot more at the site so any of these links will give you more if you are looking.

Until Next Time...

Counted as normal

As a Crohn's patient, are there things that you accept as just part of everyday life - that you just deal with and it becomes so second nature that you really don't even give them a second thought. Things that the rest of the "healthy" population would just look at us and think we are crazy. Here's what got me to thinking:

When I went and saw my GI doc not to terribly long ago, he asked on average how many times I went to the restroom a day for a "Crohn's moment." My answer was 6-8 times and I didn't even give it a second thought. You see, when I was fir diagnosed - I was going 20-22 times a day, so 6-8 is a drastic improvement. He looked at me very puzzled and said "You know that's not normal - right?" Well I guess in my head, I do know that the average human does not go to the restroom 6-8 times a day, but I have just dealt with it for so long, I just don't think about it.

Got me to wondering what else in my life I just count as normal, but everyone else in the world would think we are crazy? Anything you can thing of that may help the rest of the world add some insight to us "crohnies" would be great.

Crohn's Patient Robert Hill Reaches Peak of Antarctica's Tallest Mountain

Here's a pretty coolstory I found out on the net tonight. Just thought I would share. This story come from www.everestnews.com/stories2005/crohn01152006.htm. I put a link to Rob Hill's website "No Guts Know Glory" on the sidebar, as well as "I.D.E.A.S." which is an organization he helps to support. Hope this story inspires you as it did me.

- Accomplishment Marks Fifth in Seven Summits Campaign for Intestinal Disease Awareness -

Crohn's disease patient Robert (Rob) Hill has summited Vinson Massif, Antarctica's tallest mountain. Hill's team began the climb on January 12th and successfully reached the mountain's peak at 9:00 P.M. G.M.T (4:00 P.M. E.S.T.) on January 19th after eight days of erratic weather and sub-freezing temperatures.

The expedition, sponsored by ConvaTec, a world-leading manufacturer of ostomy and wound care products, marks the fifth in Hill's quest to become the first Crohn's patient and ostomate to scale the Seven Summits, the tallest peaks on the seven continents. By taking on the Seven Summits, Hill hopes to show other people living with intestinal diseases or an ostomy that they should still live their lives to the fullest.

"There was a time when I could barely climb up the stairs from the debilitating pain of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). So to think that I would ever see Antarctica, let alone climb Vinson Massif, has been a dream come true," says Hill. "Not everyone living with IBD needs to climb mountains, only to live their lives to the fullest."

Nearly 1.5 million Americans are affected by Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (collectively known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease), and approximately 750,000 Americans are living with an ostomy due to either IBD, colorectal cancer or other chronic bowel or bladder diseases.
Fewer than 100 people over the past 20 years have successfully scaled the Seven Summits. The feat is hard on anyone, much less someone without their colon, the organ that is primarily responsible for absorbing water and nutrients into the body.

Each climb Hill makes takes a toll on his body. Keeping up his nutrition and hydration is paramount, but even still, he typically loses up to 15 percent of his body weight on each climb.
Rob's Story -- No Guts, Know Glory!

At 23-years of age, Rob was a strong, healthy athlete who had never been sick in his life. Then, confronted with daily diarrhea and sustained, stabbing abdominal cramps, he was eventually diagnosed with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

As his condition grew worse, Hill lost 80 pounds and a year and a half later his large intestine was removed through an ostomy procedure. "When it came down to losing my colon or losing my life, it wasn't a hard decision to make," he says.

Now, 12 years later, Hill is mid-way through a five-year campaign he calls "No Guts -- Know Glory!" to become the first Crohn's patient and ostomate to climb the Seven Summits. The campaign grew from Rob's love of sport and the outdoors, pursuits he returned to with newfound dedication not long after surgery.

To date, Hill has successfully scaled five of the Seven Summits -- with Vinson Massif being the coldest climb to date (average daytime temperature of -20 degrees F). Conditions on Vinson Massif were so unpredictable that the weather would change from clear and sunny skies to blinding snowstorms in a matter of minutes. But to Hill, what separated Vinson Massif from the other Seven Summits is the complete isolation of the mountain and breathtaking views of the Antarctic landscapes.

For his inspirational efforts, Hill recently was recognized by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and ConvaTec with an honorary award from the Great Comebacks(R) Program, which, for more than twenty years, has given special recognition to those whose life stories inspire people living with an ostomy.

"I know from experience that Crohn's and colitis can be debilitating and make you feel very inhibited -- physically and emotionally," says Hill. "If you are living with these diseases or going through surgery it's important to know that you can get your life back -- you shouldn't let it define you."

Today, Rob continues to break down barriers for people living with intestinal diseases, letting them know that "it's okay to talk about these conditions and not something to hide behind." This year, Rob will be traveling to CCFA affiliates nationwide, speaking to patient groups about his own experiences and encouraging people to get out and conquer their own personal summits.
Small Steps, Giant Strides Toward IBD Awareness

Hill began his No Guts -- Know Glory! quest in 2002 and has now scaled five of the Seven Summits:

* June 2002, Mt. Elbrus, 18,481 feet (5,633 m), Russia/Georgia, Europe
* October 2003, Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19,339 feet (5,963 m), Tanzania, Africa
* January 2004, Aconcagua, 22,840 foot (6,962 m), Argentina, South America
* June 2005, Denali/Mt. McKinley, 20,320 feet (5,895 m), Alaska, U.S.A., North America
* January 2006, Vinson Massif, 16,067 feet (4,897 m), Antarctica.

A big warm hello!

A big warm hello to all! As I'm new on here I thought I should introduce myself!

I'm Ruth, 28 and currently living in the glorious and amazing french alps. Every day that I am here I count myself totally blessed and believe that God (or someone) is smiling down on me! As well as living in a beautiful place, I have several special people in my life who I hold dear, and I would describe my love life as a little “complicated but interesting”. I currently have no children.

I was diagnosed with severe Crohn's disease back in 1991 when I was just a kid, although I had suffered with various symptoms since the age of about 3. When I was 11 my condition suddenly progressed till I was only a skeleton, couldn't walk, couldn't keep anything down – not even water, and was in severe agonising pain. When my dad presented me at the local A&E, the paediatrician doc said I would have probably only had another week to live at the most. Thankfully my prayers to God had worked! Since then, I've had a fair few more brushes with death, and I count myself incredibly lucky to be alive and enjoying life today.

Since my diagnosis, I have been on total nasal gastric (ng) tube feeding – was on that for around 8 years throughout my childhood and have been on elemental diets ever since – sometimes as a supplement, have been on copious amounts of steroids which has caused me to develop osteoporosis (was on steroids Crohn's for my asthma as well as Crohn's), have been on various other medications including non-steroidal anti- inflammatories and immunosuppressants – all to no great effect (apart from one trial which I will tell you about another time), and have had 6 major operations, including an ileostomy which has since been reversed. My Crohn's is mainly in my small bowel, and as I understand it, I don't have a lot of it left due to many bowel resections and am in the “danger zone”. Thankfully in my last op, my surgeon managed to conserve the bowel instead of remove part of it.

Although Crohn's has been played a big part in my life, I have always tried my best to stay positive and to live life to the fullest as possible. I'm a great believer that you only have one life, so it is up to us to make the most of it. Obviously there have been many a times when I've just not been well enough to do the things I've wanted to do, and have had to reluctantly sit back and be patient. Admittedly learning to be patient when you are a bit of a go-oer like me, can be one of the hardest things to do! I'm nearly always cramming my life full of things I enjoy doing, sometimes in the past to the detriment of my health, and so various friends and family have to sometimes remind me to slow down and take it a bit easier! To be honest I know that having been in pain for a good chunk of my childhood and beyond, I developed a way of almost blocking out the pain so that I could continue with my life and try not let it get in my way. Unfortunately, at times I have become so apt at blocking out pain that I haven't always noticed when my condition has been getting progressively worse, and again it's taken other people – sometimes health professionals, to point it out to me. Some people might like to call this blocking out “denial” but I don't think it's quite like that, as if I knew I was so ill I certainly wouldn't beat about the bush in getting myself help. I just think that I have lived with it for so long that I have kind of become immune. Although things are starting to change now I'm living in France, as my health has taken a wondeful “up” turn, for the first time in my life, and although I'm not 100 % well, in comparison to how I've felt before, I feel pretty damn wonderful! I pray that long may this last!

Right, I think that's enough for now as I've written you an essay! Lol. Looking forward to popping in again sometime soon. Take care and hugs to all, Ruth x

Things we think are lost

When I was in high school, I used to enjoy running. Yes, I was one of those people. I ran in raod races and ran long distance on our track team. I wasn't very good, but I enjoyed it tremendously.

Within 6 months after graduating from high school, I was showing pretty severe signs of Crohn's though I would not be diagnosed for another 2 years. I was tired all the time, with no energy to do any of the typical "college" things you would do when you go away to school. I had to give up running shortly after high school, simply because I just couldn't.

Over the last 15 years, there have been several times where I have wanted to get back to doing one of the things I loved, but I just wasn't physically able. I could run 1/4 or 1/2 mile, but that was about it. I had no stamina and could not build any because my body just wasn't ready. Until now...

I started running again back in the fall of last year. Slowly but surely I was able to run longer and farther. Then I hurt my knee of all things and had to stop for the last six weeks of the year. I decided I would start again this year as part of my New Year's resoltion. After running for the few weeks in the fall, I new I could and that my body was ready.

Fast forward from Jan. 1 to yesterday - I finished my first 100 miles of the year. This amount of time and running commitment is something that I never thought I would be able to do again in my lifetime, and honestly it was something the doctors told me I most likely would not be able to do. But here I am.

Someone asked me why running was important to me at this point in my life, I told them I am running for those with Crohn's who can't. There was a time when I could not have dreamed of doing this.

So, for those of you ready this who are early in your diagnosis, I hope that this story gives you hope & encouragement. Those things that you love but you may not be able to do now, do not give up hope that you will be able to do those things again. It may take time ( a lot of time for me ), but there is hope.

And for any of you who want to travel, but think you can't with Crohn's - click on Lizzi link in the authors section on the right. Check out where the Crohn's patient has spent the last 3 months.

Until next time...

Pretty Cool Story

If you ahve not visited the Crohn's Zone, it is worth checking out. The link is on the right. Pretty good sight for connecting, forums, and chats. If you get a chance & have some time to read...check it out.

I was there tonight and one of the threads in the forums takled about "the spoon theory." Didn't know what they were talking about but my curiosity was peaked. I'm going to put a link to this story at the bottom of this post. It is a great story for helping others understand what we as Crohn's patients go through daily.

FYI - I'm putting this in here as a link instead of copying and pasting because it is copyrighted. So if you happen to pass this on, please give credit where credit is due.

Click on the link here to read this story: But You Don't Look Sick

Until next time...