Great Article by Jill Coley From the Charleston Post and Courier. I love his quote in the fourth paragraph. That is pretty much they way I look at the good days and bad days with Crohn's.
Cadet James Lewis, a 20-year-old sophomore at The Citadel, doesn't define himself by Crohn's disease. But the digestive disorder can strike any time.
Crohn's disease is an inflammation of the digestive tract lining. Symptoms vary and can be embarrassing. Many suffer severe abdominal pain, weight loss and fatigue.
Cadet James Lewis carries on his life as a cadet at the Citadel even though he suffers from Crohn's disease, a disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive tract and can have embarrassing symptoms.
"It's a random disease. You do not know if you're going to have a good day or a bad day," the Columbia native said. "I always expect to have a good day, and if it's a bad one, I deal with it."
Lewis manages his Crohn's with bi-monthly shots to his stomach and daily maintenance pills. When he started at The Citadel last year, he struggled with whether to tell his peers about the disorder.
"Everyone has something different about them, something they have to deal with," he said. "It's a big part of my life, but I'd not go so far as to say it defines me." With a 3.9 GPA, the business major is on track to graduate in three years. Playing for the tennis team is a bright spot for him, he said.
In October, he was recognized in Orlando, Fla., along with 30 other winners of the UCB Crohn's Scholarship Program. The pharmaceutical company awarded 31 $10,000 scholarships.
After The Citadel, Lewis is eyeing a dual graduate degree program in law and international business administration.
Col. Mark Bebensee, associate dean of the school of business administration, said of Lewis' disorder, "You would never know. It hasn't kept him from being the brightest in the class."
At the beginning of Bebensee's microeconomics course, Lewis filled out an introduction form where he mentioned he had Crohn's. If it wasn't for that, Bebensee said he'd never know. "He's learned to cope very well," he said.
Lewis was diagnosed with Crohn's disease during his freshman year in high school.
Although the cause of Crohn's disease is not fully understood, many experts say the immune system plays a role, attacking the gastrointestinal tract.
While there is no known cure for the disease, there are treatments, including medication and surgery, that can offer relief from symptoms.
About 20 percent of people with the disorder have a relative with it, too. But in Lewis' case, he is the only one in his family, he said.
At first, Lewis suffered from cramps, but didn't think much of the disease, he said. Then the flare-ups began. A flare-up is an eruption of ulcers, leading to painful cramping.
During flare-ups, digestion is disrupted, and the body fails to extract nutrients from food. Lewis once lost 20 pounds during an episode.
Freshman year at The Citadel can be a particular challenge for someone with Crohn's. The rigor and stress might trigger flare-ups.
Lewis had about eight last year, more than twice what he averaged before starting at the military school.
Infusions of a steroid and immunosuppressive medicine can treat his flare-ups, he said, but slowing his immune system leaves him open to colds and sinus infections.
"If I was in any other school, I'd stay in bed all day. At The Citadel, I can't," Lewis said.
Crohn's disease is an inflammation of the digestive tract lining. Symptoms vary and can be embarrassing. Many suffer severe abdominal pain, weight loss and fatigue.
Cadet James Lewis carries on his life as a cadet at the Citadel even though he suffers from Crohn's disease, a disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive tract and can have embarrassing symptoms.
"It's a random disease. You do not know if you're going to have a good day or a bad day," the Columbia native said. "I always expect to have a good day, and if it's a bad one, I deal with it."
Lewis manages his Crohn's with bi-monthly shots to his stomach and daily maintenance pills. When he started at The Citadel last year, he struggled with whether to tell his peers about the disorder.
"Everyone has something different about them, something they have to deal with," he said. "It's a big part of my life, but I'd not go so far as to say it defines me." With a 3.9 GPA, the business major is on track to graduate in three years. Playing for the tennis team is a bright spot for him, he said.
In October, he was recognized in Orlando, Fla., along with 30 other winners of the UCB Crohn's Scholarship Program. The pharmaceutical company awarded 31 $10,000 scholarships.
After The Citadel, Lewis is eyeing a dual graduate degree program in law and international business administration.
Col. Mark Bebensee, associate dean of the school of business administration, said of Lewis' disorder, "You would never know. It hasn't kept him from being the brightest in the class."
At the beginning of Bebensee's microeconomics course, Lewis filled out an introduction form where he mentioned he had Crohn's. If it wasn't for that, Bebensee said he'd never know. "He's learned to cope very well," he said.
Lewis was diagnosed with Crohn's disease during his freshman year in high school.
Although the cause of Crohn's disease is not fully understood, many experts say the immune system plays a role, attacking the gastrointestinal tract.
While there is no known cure for the disease, there are treatments, including medication and surgery, that can offer relief from symptoms.
About 20 percent of people with the disorder have a relative with it, too. But in Lewis' case, he is the only one in his family, he said.
At first, Lewis suffered from cramps, but didn't think much of the disease, he said. Then the flare-ups began. A flare-up is an eruption of ulcers, leading to painful cramping.
During flare-ups, digestion is disrupted, and the body fails to extract nutrients from food. Lewis once lost 20 pounds during an episode.
Freshman year at The Citadel can be a particular challenge for someone with Crohn's. The rigor and stress might trigger flare-ups.
Lewis had about eight last year, more than twice what he averaged before starting at the military school.
Infusions of a steroid and immunosuppressive medicine can treat his flare-ups, he said, but slowing his immune system leaves him open to colds and sinus infections.
"If I was in any other school, I'd stay in bed all day. At The Citadel, I can't," Lewis said.
3 comments:
I can really relate to this post, i am 16 and im from the uk. I had a huge flare up in 2006 after a heavy course of steroids and other meds it resulted in an ileostomy and later i developed somthing called pyoderma gangrenosum which is an extreamly rare flesh eating skin condition associated with auto immune diseases, the ileostomy is now rejoined. i missed a hole year of school and did not do my final exams. i havnt let this effect me, i have gone back to school and am now working at grade A* and plan to follow a career in gastroenterology being around hospitals and medicine has gave me a life long passion and intrest for the subject, helping others in similar situations appeals to me. It has don't nothing but make me stronger and i enjoy reading other peoples stories and how it has changed and effected there lives.
if anyone wants to talk send me an email or add me on msn Adam_macrae@hotmail.co.uk
Peace
Adam
Hang in there, you have a long but hopeful road. I started having symptoms in 1966 when I was a schlorship athelete at Notre Dame. My doctor did not know what it was back then. We experimented with vigorous exercise and the "Paul Bragg" health food system, the Duke Rice diet from the 1930's, and various versions of Pritikin. It was good enough to keep me going for all these years as a sking and snowboarding instructor at Vail, windsufing instructor in Hood River, Oregon, snowboard coach at Mount Hood in the Summer, and in the top five national racers and freeriders in my age group for the last 20 years. During the time I was not on the mountain or riding the river I was teaching law school, which let me travel to national contests, train 90 minutes a day, and stay competitive. At 62, the cramps and fever have been getting a lot worse during flare ups in the last few years. Some days the pain gets too bad and I turn home before I get to the mountain or the river. Like you, I never know what tomorrow will bring, but it has been a great 42 years - which, in the words Of "Rocky Balboa" "Aint too bad." "Don't ever quit.
Best regards, snowghost
Hang in there, you have a long but hopeful road. I started having symptoms in 1966 when I was a schlorship athelete at Notre Dame. My doctor did not know what it was back then. We experimented with vigorous exercise and the "Paul Bragg" health food system, the Duke Rice diet from the 1930's, and various versions of Pritikin. It was good enough to keep me going for all these years as a sking and snowboarding instructor at Vail, windsufing instructor in Hood River, Oregon, snowboard coach at Mount Hood in the Summer, and in the top five national racers and freeriders in my age group for the last 20 years. During the time I was not on the mountain or riding the river I was teaching law school, which let me travel to national contests, train 90 minutes a day, and stay competitive. At 62, the cramps and fever have been getting a lot worse during flare ups in the last few years. Some days the pain gets too bad and I turn home before I get to the mountain or the river. Like you, I never know what tomorrow will bring, but it has been a great 42 years - which, in the words Of "Rocky Balboa" "Aint too bad." "Don't ever quit.
Best regards, snowghost
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