Ahhh, grasshopper, you have snatched the pebble from my hand (theres an old media reference only some folks of my generation or older will recall)
anyway, katiesue.. congratulations. I think you've adopted a very 'healthy' approach (if one can use that term in connection to our collective disease?) in dealing with your/our new reality. Anyone ever wonder WTF this old fart was doing? Popping in with totally off topic, or inane posts, at sometimes seemingly the most inappropriate occasions or places. Well, it's not that I'm one of those 'buffoons' who try to make a joke about EVERY thing.. you know the type. Altho I've always been a light hearted spirit by nature, the new 'reality' for me; for all of us, is that we have undergone a life changing diagnosis. And, no matter how much we'd like to go back to the good old days pre-diagnosis, that just isn't in the cards. We can't do a damned thing about it. But, we can 'actively' even 'aggressively' try to... wellll, tip the scales of reality a little. It won't change our outcome, wellll; maybe it will... but it can change our perception of our 'reality'. Laughter MAY not have the power to bring us out of a physical tailspin, but it CAN make a difference in an emotional one. And, despite the fact that there are times when we have little or no control over the physical path we are on; WE can do something about the emotional or mental path we are on. I know this sounds trite, I know this sounds over simplistic, but I also know this is true. A friend who eventually lost a heroic struggle with AML taught me this... The final, physical outcome was totally out of her control, BUT.. the life she lived in those remaining days she always managed to control. I miss her. I only hope that I can share the valuable lesson she taught me.
Anyway, here I am, preaching again. And, not to hijack this thread, or to make light of a serious topic, but since none of us here have the 'power' to make this disease go away, we CAN fight it in a way. some may feel its just a defense strategy, a coping mechanism, a waste of precious time that can be better spent talking in more serious tones. But the fact of the matter is that there is more to us than just the physical; and that defense strategies or coping mechanisms do just that! So, if this disease has you down at the moment; or your feeling blue; or just overwhelmed by all the medical info or mis-information you are bombarded with EVERY freakin day.. STOP. Go find a 'funnie', or a joke, or something totally unrelated. Share it here with your fellow crohnies. It won't make your symptoms go away, lessen your cramps nor curb a fever; but it may make you feel better... for just a moment. And it may bring a smile to someone elses face on here.. and thats' something we can do. Thats' something that we CAN stop this disease from taking from us. I can't eat what I like, I can't drink what I like, I can't party like I used to... but, dammit... I can still laugh like I used to before I got ill. and I do... Like... Q 'What did one turd say to the other?' A "You look like crap"