I was on twitter this afternoon, and came across a user who had lost his good friends from Crohn's Disease. I asked him if I could share his friends story on CDSN, and he said yes. In memory of Joshua Coleman (this exert is from http://nerdyjustin.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/r-i-p-joshua-coleman-an...
early this morning, a friend of mine who is also living with Crohn's Disease passed away in the hospital. he had his wife and brother with him at the time. he has been living with Crohn's for 14 years and had made great progress in treatment. he has been a friend of mine for almost a year now, and was a great support when I needed it. he was doing so well, even got off of a few medications and was actually gaining weight. but over the past week he started having a lot of pain and became ill. I talked to him Wednesday while he was laying in his bed waiting for his wife to come home early from work to help him. he made a few jokes and said it’s just normal, which I agree it is from time to time. but he apparently was taken to the e.r. yesterday evening where he was emitted and passed away 7 hours later. he was a great guy and was always optimistic. I met him on a medical forum almost a year ago when I was whining about my own Crohn's problems and we became friends instantly. he even sent be a bottle of Protonix last February because I ran out and had no insurance. he was in much better condition than I was. he only had one major surgery from Crohn's and no longer needed infusions. but this came up out of no where and got him. so it doesn’t matter how well we treat it, doesn’t matter if we go into remission or get slightly more pain free, it can jump up and get us whenever it feels like it. it’s fucking Christmas and now his family has to deal with his loss. he was doing so much better than he was last year, and had planned on being there and able to eat Christmas dinner with his family. there is now an empty chair at the table because of this stupid disease. I’m more angry than upset right now, I just can’t believe it. I’ve never lost anyone from suffering from the same disease as I am and it’s really a bitch slap in the face, especially since I am not even at 50% efficiency as he was. all i can do right now is pray for his family. I need a cigarette and a drink. who cares if it’s bad for me, I really don’t care.
Thank You Justin MaHaffey for allowing me to post this.
Posts
Good bye.
4 years ago
I live hear in the USA and have never heard of one case of anyone dieing from Crohn's you may feel like you are going to die sometimes but if there are any problems attributed to Crohn's it is usually because they have been misdiagnosed and have not been treated correctly or complications arise from surgery.I was at a seminar at the University of Virginia and the panel was comprised of some very respected very experienced GI Dr.s and someone asked the question if they could die from IBD and the response was "you may die with it but you will not die from it"
ReplyDeleteWell I beg to differ as Crohn's can cause life threatening complications. Granted it's a fine line I suppose. No one dies of AIDS they die of AIDS related complications. I feel the same for Crohn's Not sure if you saw either but a very well respected screen writer died from Crohn's - his doctors confirmed it, and the NY Times even ran a story:
ReplyDeleteThis information is from The New York Times via:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/movies/21obannon.html
Dan O’Bannon, whose screenplays for “Alien,” “Total Recall,” “The Return of the Living Dead” and other films made him a cult hero among science fiction aficionados, died on Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 63.
I would also like to point out the complications that someone living with Crohn's could die from: Bowel obstruction causing sepsis, malnutrition. fistulas forming causing sepsis, severe infection from fistulas, dehydration from severe vomiting and frequent bowel movements (upwards of a dozen of more a day) that can effect other organs esp the heart, and lastly internal bleeding that is from the open sores.
My first GI doctor is considered one of the best in Cincinnati, and in the midest. If I listened to him I'd be dead myself no questions asked as he tried to talk me out of a bowel resection that saved my life. the strictures that NEVER showed up on ANY small bowel fllow throughs and CT Scans ( this was before the pill cam) that the surgeon removed was essentially a walking time bomb for bowel perforations in a couple of areas. Finally when I was 10yrs old in 1990 also my appendix ruptured, ALSO from Crohn's Disease.
This is just my experiences personally. I respect your views and opinions...but I personally disagree.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Hope this message finds you well.