Crohn’s and me: Seven years on

Today’s date (15th March) is not what I’d call a special date in my life, but it’s an important one nonetheless. Seven years ago today I was officially diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a painful illness that unfortunately has me live in chronic pain on a daily basis.

As strange as it sounds it was actually a good thing to be diagnosed as it meant I could finally get some treatment for it. Growing up as a kid wasn’t particularly great, I tended to have pain but nowhere near as much as what I suffered with the week prior to 15th March.

Eight days before the 15th I started to feel ill. Really ill. I was in a ridiculous amount of pain, more than I’d ever had, but unfortunately doctors were clueless about the cause and left me with nothing by laxatives (which did more harm than good) and paracetemols (which did nothing).

I can still remember that level of pain, since then I’ve come close but have only ever had that level of pain again once. At that point my digestive system had totally closed up due to excessive internal bleeding and inflammation. I’ll save you the gory details but in short I was a goner.

I was rushed into hospital where an x-ray showed the severity of my situation. I had more wires in me than I care to remember, I can’t fully remember what I was being given but I do remember they gave me a few shots of morphine that put me to sleep instantly (eight days of no sleep will do that).

Before I got the injections I was told I’d be going to surgery, which was a scary prospect considering things were looking bleak. I don’t really want to have the thoughts I had when I was dropping off to sleep not knowing if I’d ever wake up ever again that’s for sure.

Obviously I did wake up, and when I did I found even more wires in me. It turned out I’d been asleep for quite a while and in that time one particular doctor had decided to see if steroid treatment would work before trying surgery. To most people’s surprise, it did. I don’t know how much got pumped into my veins but it started to reduce the inflammation, putting me on the (admittedly long) road to recovery. Considering just how bad I was, my recovery has been an absolute miracle.

To be honest I don’t really think about this all that much, but since that day when I was as good as dead, my life hasn’t been the same. Not just in the way I live it but in the person I am and how I live my life.

I have been reflecting on it all recently, sometimes I get annoyed because I’ve survived while other people in my life haven’t. It’s not that I’m not grateful to be alive, I just think Em deserves to be more than I. 

In the seven years since I survived I’ve done so much with my life. I’ve picked up two high class degrees, travelled the world, helped children with the same illness as me (Crohn’s or UC), had some really good jobs, met some great people, and raised thousands of pounds for CICRA.

It’s the little things too, for example I just do things now that I would never have done before – throwing all caution to the wind. I always remember getting fed up, walking into my living room to randomly tell Em I was going to stop taking my meds (the side effects are shocking). A ridiculous notion that nobody thought would work. Four years later and I’m still here doing it without them (if any youngsters are reading this, do as I say not as I do!).

In all seriousness though, I’m actually quite proud of myself. I haven’t wasted a day since I got out of the hospital. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done some stupid things as well, but overall I’m pleased with the amount I’ve achieved.

Thinking about it, I’m not entirely sure the old me - the one before 15th March 2006 - would have been able to do all the stuff I’ve done. The guy I am now is far superior in every way. I’m physically fitter than I was back then, stronger, I have more endurance, and my adrenaline packs a ridiculous punch (admittedly thanks to certain meds). Admittedly I have trouble keeping weight on, for obvious reasons, and of course there’s the pain but other than that I’m much better!

Whatever I’ve set out to achieve I’ve done. No matter how hard it’s been I’ve done it and I’m proud of that. I’ve kept every promise and seized every day. I’ve picked up my degrees, have worked for some good companies, have a good job, the only thing I didn’t achieve was a wedding and that wasn’t exactly in my control.

In the last twelve months alone I’ve done loads. I ploughed myself through university while working as a marketer as a couple of organisations, landed a good job, all while dealing with a lot of stuff. 

I also started writing for Nintendo Life too! Which has really been the best thing for me. I love writing, I love games, what more could I ask for?

Sure the past seven years have been tough, I’m not going to lie and say they’ve been a breeze. Last year was probably the hardest one of the lot, but in terms of Crohn’s I’m doing pretty well. Who knows what the next seven years will hold, but I want to make sure I get even more done than the last seven. I have a couple of projects on the go at the moment, I’m looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

I’m not sure what’s been making me think about this recently, I tend to take the route of burying it with everything else in my mind. It’s good to reflect on things though.

Today I got my Masters certificate through from uni, I’m a Master of Science with distinction. Could I have done that without Crohn’s moulding me into the person I am today? Who knows, all I know is the next time you think something’s impossible or that something is too hard, think again.

Anyway that’s enough rambling from me. I’m running the Manchester 10K in May for CICRA. If you’d like to sponsor me you can using this handy link. I can also put you on the paper form if you prefer.

Sharing is Caring.

Since I started using Twitter my time spent on Facebook naturally decreased but recently I’ve all but stopped using Zuckerberg’s networking behemoth entirely. It got me thinking about why I’d stopped using it and the more I thought about it the more obvious the answers were. I don’t think it’s one specific reason but a collection of several…

There’s the the new Timeline feature which is a bit of a pain but I don’t think that’s the reason. When I first got it imposed on me I didn’t know what to do with it, but in time I figured it out and I don’t actually mind it that much. However the timeline does ruin the pages (or likes) feature as I’ve seen working in small businesses trying to build up their social network presence. It is abysmal for them and I’m still surprised it hasn’t been modified yet…

I think what annoys me the most about Facebook from an individual standpoint is the endless obsession with sharing everything. I mean, don’t get me wrong, sharing is great and all but I am getting a little fed up with being encouraged to do so all the time by Facebook. Tell us where you are! Update your status! Tell the world what you bought off Amazon! It’s all a bit bizarre…

You Wouldn't Kick a Kitten.

The Grand National was today and I noticed that the BBC broadcasted it under BBC Sport. That’d be nice and all if it was actually a sport! Horse-racing just isn’t a sport, why do so many people pretend that it is?

All horse-racing exists for is to generate cash by allowing people to bet on which horse they think will win. For this reason horse-racing is here to stay because money is far more important than the welfare of humans never mind animals.

Just because people bet on it does not constitute it as a sport. I’ve already written about this in the past and summed up my argument with this paragraph:

“The fact is, if the government put a blanket ban on betting on all sports, horse-riding would die overnight. Football wouldn’t. Rugby wouldn’t. Nor would any other real sport. Horse-riding exists for one purpose, betting on it. Have you been in a betting shop recently? It’s depressing. All you find is a tatty old man clutching the Racing Post looking desperately at a television as his horse tumbles over and takes a bullet right between the eyes. His life’s become so desolate you feel it’s him that deserves the bullet. Put the poor guy out of his misery.”

Again: NOT A SPORT.

Top 11 funniest clips of 2011.

Well we’re in that awkward week between Christmas and New Year so with 2012 looming I thought I would look back at some funny clips of 2011. I’ve probably missed out some good ones, but these are the ones that stick out the most in my memory. So without further ado here are my top 11 funniest moments (that are on YouTube) of 2011.

The Heavy Hand of the Law.

Tomorrow there will be a massive student protest in London. They will be protesting against the massive tuition fee hike they’re set to pay in 2012 which leaves them at least £27,000 in debt before they’ve even started their working life.

Tories and other unaffected citizens will no doubt condemn them for protesting. “Just take it on the chin” they’ll say. I wonder if they’d take £9,000 a year leaving their bank accounts on the chin. To be fair, some of them are so rich they probably would.

You Don't Say.

The 5th of November has been and gone now, the official day of fireworks up in smoke for another year. Firework pun, hooray! 

This year’s bonfire night will probably be most remembered for a footballing clown setting his bathroom on fire. Of course I can only be talking about Mario Balotelli.

Mario is football’s comedian right now. In his uncanny ability to fail on massive proportions whether it be setting his shower curtain alight, swearing on tele or not being able to put a bib on, nobody matches him in entertainment value. 

Of course the papers were set alight by the bathroom calamity. Balotelli has become their lifeblood in recent months. Without him the tabloids would be bankrupt. The day after City’s drubbing of United the papers went bananas with firework puns. It was almost like a competition between them, who could use the most puns in one article.

Homo Stultus Vulgaris

Last weekend I went on a night out into the great city of Manchester, something I rarely do considering it’s ridiculously expensive and heavily over-rated but nevertheless it happened.

The night itself wasn’t too bad and was largely enjoyable, however there is always a problem with going out on these excursions: transport.

Getting there is easy enough, you simply go to the train station and get on a train. Sure they’re packed out to the point where if there were a fire everyone would die a horrible horrible death as they scrambled around trampling people underfoot, but they get you from A to B fairly quickly and cheaply.

Why the long face?

I saw in the news yesterday that jockey, Richard Hughes, has effectively retired by giving up his riding licence. He’s done this in protest to a new rule that limits the amount of time a rider can whip his horse.

Apparently the new limit is seven times in a flat race and eight in a jumping race with an additional five in the final furlong or something. This has Richard Hughes up in arms, claiming it hinders the riders.

The man who put a ding in the universe.

The world was saddened on Wednesday night to hear that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at the young age of just 56.

He was a visionary businessman who turned his small computer company into a market-leader and changed the world with his vision, innovative ideas and uncanny attention to detail. The man in the black-shirt and denim jeans did this by finding out what consumers wanted before they even knew they wanted it.

Twitter Etiquette

I joined Twitter at the beginning of this year to see what all the fuss was about and it didn’t take long for me to see just what I‘d been missing. All this tweeting, following, and hash-tagging has gotten me fairly addicted a mere nine months into my Twitter career.

I quickly learned that this thing was much better than Facebook. Since having Twitter my status updates have dropped by around 50%. I sometimes don’t even log in at all. For a start, with Twitter you follow people who are interesting, you don’t have to put up with that guy you went to school with who you barely spoke to then let alone now.

Extra! Extra! Tweet all about it!

Journalism is an ever evolving profession that is becoming increasingly competitive day by day. Technology has changed the way that we receive our news. Gone are the days when the only sources were the broadsheets and television news bulletins. Now there is rolling news broadcasting around the clock, countless digital radio stations, and of course the internet.

The world wide web has changed the way journalism works. The scope has suddenly been vastly expanded with users able to access their news wherever and whenever they want to and even broadcast their own news.

Rioters: They’re not big, and they’re certainly not clever.

Being British can be embarrassing at the best of times but this week has taken it to a whole new level. For no real reason a bunch of morons have decided to riot across England, looting and leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

All of this started when a man possessing a gun in London was shot by police. During a peaceful protest from that man’s family on the streets where he died, some thugs hijacked it and started rioting. It spread, not just across London, but across England, with riots being started in Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Gloucester amongst others.

Labelling, re-labelling, or not labelling at all.

London has been taken over by rioters over the past few days. People have been vandalising shops, looting goods and setting fire to everything and anything including fire engines themselves. If you haven’t heard about it you’re probably a hermit crab, or David Cameron.

It has understandably been the main story across all the news media recently, but after reading about it all, or watching news bulletins on TV something is troubling me. Why are the rioters being called ‘protesters’ or ‘demonstrators’?

An Old Friend's Retirement.

Retired - The good ol' Samsung.

I’ve never really been the most punctual person, but I do get there in the end. It’s better late than never… I’m finally here in the 21st Century!

I decided last month that I would buy a new phone as my poor old Samsung was getting a little tired. The cheeky little blighter turned 4 years old last month and I decided it had worked long enough. Upon this decision I thought it was the right time to get a new phone and retire my Samsung, I did consider the same option as the government - increasing the age of retirement - pushing it to five years, but I thought this was just unfair on my poor phone who’d worked bloody hard these past four years.

Retail Therapy.

The high street has been taking a bit of a beating recently thanks to the poor economic climate. Many companies have seen profits drop to an absolute low with some taking the drastic measures of closing stores and making staff redundant.

If the current economic climate were an actual climate then I would liken it to the harsh dry sandy deserts of the Sahara. Although every desert has an oasis. For example Marks & Spencer recorded a growth in sales recently, while Sports Direct have been making a profit. It appears the chavs who used to shop at Jolly Jolly Bargains (JJB) have moved retailer and are now shopping at Sports Direct!

No means no.

I was amazed last week when I saw a news feature on the emergence of a new Playboy club down in London. What amazed me most is that here in the modern world, Playboy clubs still exist.

Essentially, Playboy is a brand that makes large amounts of money by using women as basic objects, however some would disagree arguing that the women involved are ‘modern-day feminists’ empowering themselves and getting paid well while they’re at it. The fact still remains however that although they are paid, the profit made by the business is far greater than the wage expense, or ‘maintenance costs’ as they may call it.

Privacy vs. Freedom of Speech.

It was revealed yesterday that the footballer who holds one of the famed super injunctions is attempting to sue the Twitter users who have been revealing his name on the social network site.

Well good luck to him, because he’s going to get nowhere.

Twitter is a United States company operating in the state of California, therefore they are not under the jurisdiction of the high courts of the United Kingdom. Even so, the high courts have given Twitter seven days to reveal the names of those pesky users who’ve been committing that heinous crime of saying whatever the hell they want.

The perfect preparation for a 10km run.

I ran the Manchester 10K again on Sunday which was a gruelling battle between man and road. It was a good race that left my legs heavier than a pair of Americans after Thanksgiving and my ankle in quite a bit of pain. But I made it! All be it in a longer time than last year, a whole six minutes more, meaning I have some work to do for next year. Six minutes in a 10K is a week! Although my time was disappointing, I did manage to raise a lot of money for CICRA (Crohn's in Childhood Research Association) which is always great!

Of course being involved on Sunday meant that my Saturday night was spent indoors watching Saturday night tele. Lucky for me it wasn’t just any Saturday night, this one was special, it was of course Eurovision night!

To AV, or not to AV: that is the question.

It’s the big day at the polls tomorrow where the poor souls of the British public will have to vote for who they want as their local councillor and of course that pesky referendum on the voting system.

Yes it’s the AV referendum, the debate that swept across the nation and was promptly swept under the carpet. In the end not many people seem to care about the issue, which is quite sad considering just how dramatic a change it would be if we were to adopt the Alternative Voting system.

A Right Royal Shindig.

The royal wedding is fast approaching, so far I’ve been lucky enough to escape the media coverage, but this week it is impossible to avoid. Absolutely impossible. It’s all starting to feel a bit like Glastonbury with people pitching up little tents along the streets of London, the brave little blighters.

I don’t really mind the royal wedding to be fair, I don’t dislike the royals and I don’t dislike the fact that the future prince is marrying. But my God, do we have to have constant wall-to-wall coverage of the royal wedding on every channel!? I wouldn’t be surprised to turn on Cartoon Network and find Ben 10 stood outside Buckingham palace telling me which Hanna-Barbera characters haven’t been invited.