I have always believed that the very first post in a brand new blog is the hardest one you will ever have to write. It should be something unique and powerful. Like the first line of a good book, you have to grab those readers before they ever even knew what hit them. That being said, I have been pondering this post for a couple of days and I have absolutely nothing. Instead of the razzle dazzle, I will just tell you why I started this blog.
This blog is my thoughts on being a nearly lifelong Crohn’s disease patient. Crohn’s disease is one of the two forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). It is an autoimmune disease that causes my own body to reject and attack my digestive system. Many people ask how it feels to have active Crohn’s disease. Think back to the worst stomach flu or food poisoning that you have ever had. Now imagine waking up feeling like that not just for days or even a week, but feeling that way for months or years. This time last year I could never have started a project like this. My whole body was completely concentrated on survival. I was being fed through an IV for 12 hours a day and coming to terms with the fact that I would indeed have to have a seventh major surgery on my small bowel. I had my surgery in May and am finally feeling like I’m coming out of the survival mode fog. If my history is any indication, the fog could fall upon me again at any time. I do hope my awesome fellow IBD survivors enjoy my blog. The selfish truth is that I really need to share my experiences when I feel capable of doing it. I love to write, but my brain turns to mush when I am sick. I need to get a lot of this out of my system in case “mush” overtakes me once again. Mush brain does not RSVP and can show up at any place at any time. With a fresh new year, this journal gives me something positive to think and act on. There are so many amazing blogs, vlogs, social network sites, etc. for folks with IBD. Because of that, this blog does seem to be quite redundant to me. Oh, well. I came up with such a clever alliteration for the title, Belle of the Bowel, how could I not start a blog! I was first going to be The Countess of Crohn’s, but BOTB is so much more me. (Please know humor and sarcasm have been some of the best medicine I have found. If you have no sense of humor; this may not be the right blog for you. Thanks for stopping by!)
Being trapped in a pirate’s booty chest is exactly how it feels to have a serious chronic illness. The mind and soul want so much, but the body screams out, “HELL NO!” (Ironically in a pirate voice. ARRR!)
I’m still trying to find my way through WordPress, so I hope to post much more very soon. As any good southern belle would say, “y’all come back now, ya hear!”
~BOTB
Belle of the Bowel 