I've lived with my wonderful boyfriend for the past 4 1/2 years. We're both divorced, and his ex-wife always claimed to be ill, so he was quite closed off and worried - even though I was very upfront about my Crohn's. He's since learned the difference between living with a crazy woman looking for attention, and someone who is truly sick. My health has been at its absolute worst, and I almost died a year ago (fistula, abscess and 75cm of gut removed), but he's been my rock!
When I was young I decided that passing on Crohn's was something I absolutely didn't want to do. My Mum has struggled with Crohn's since she was 12, and her grandfather had it, so it very obviously runs in my family. So I had my tubes tied at a fairly young age.
Since then I ended up with a teenager who really needed a home and someone to just love her. She's now an adult and very much my daughter, even though I'm barely old enough to be her mother - biologically. My boyfriend has three kids, and while only one is living at home right now, I'm still their step mother, even though we're not married. Samantha is 9, Max is 16, Tim is 19, and Ellie is 25. Sam is still at home, Max is with his mother, Tim just moved into college, and Ellie lives with her boyfriend and goes to college as well was works.
I knew I'd have a family of some sort, but I never thought I'd be as lucky as this.