Family

Smothered
Babying
Red Sox T-Shirt
Hospital Buddy

Crohn’s Disease          Ulcerative Colitis

Smothered

As a child with Crohn’s disease, I found that I got a little smothered when I wasn’t feeling good. It was actually more uncomfortable feeling smothered than it was being sick. And parents will do that sometimes. So it’s something that parents need to keep in mind. There needs to be a balance; they need to allow their kids to have independence, as well as be there for them.

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Babying

Here is what I want to say to the parents: don’t baby your kids after you find out that they have IBD. They’ll get over it— keep telling them that- but don’t keep on babying them. It’s a good thing for them to have fun in life, and not to be held back on stuff. Sometimes activities might make your stomach hurt, but just let it go for a little while. If it hurts too much, stop, but you should have fun during your life. And eventually try to have a mix of fun, rest, and all that stuff. Watch your diet, listen to what the doctors have to say, eat healthy foods, take your medications, and your symptoms will slowly start to decrease. But really, I want to emphasize that you shouldn’t baby your kids.

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Red Sox T-Shirt

When I was about to go in for my surgery, my family was so supportive of me the whole time. I couldn’t really sleep a lot so my mom would stay up with me and read me my favorite stories from when I was little. I’m a really big Red Sox fan and my dad went to a game once and brought me back a t-shirt. I still have the t-shirt and I still wear it all the time. My brother would just come and talk to me normally even though I was in all that pain. They would have little celebrations for me; like one time they had an early birthday party for me. They went out and bought all this stuff that would make me feel better at that point, like more comfortable clothing that I could wear and things like that. So having my family to support me was pretty much what got me through it.

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Hospital Buddy

My dad, brother, and sister are extremely supportive, but none of them come close to my mom. She’s constantly optimistic, telling me to think positively and mentally fight my illness. She never lets me feel sorry for myself and pushes me to have as normal a life as I can and not let my illness stop me from doing the things I love. She’s my hospital buddy, and not only drives me to Boston time and time again, but takes her little journal along with her where she writes my entire medical history, which the doctors find very helpful. We’ve been to the hospital so many times together that we have this tradition of going to Au Bon Pain after appointments. I always get the same thing: a croissant sandwich with mayonnaise, country ham, and bacon, a nectar fizz, and a chocolate croissant for dessert.

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