In my last post I wrote about the parallels I have noticed between life with Crohn’s and life these last few months with the Coronavirus pandemic, the first one being isolation.
The more I think about the experiences and emotions I’ve felt due to my Crohn’s, the more similarities I find to the current Covid-19 world. Here are a few more:
Uncertainty and hope
One of the hardest things about the current situation is the uncertainty. It was the same when my Crohn’s was bad. It felt like life was in limbo. How long will this go on? When will I (or the world) get better? When will things go back to “normal” and what will that “normal” look like?
I try not to overthink things or let the current situation get to me. It’s always been the same when I think about my Crohn’s. Most days I am fine, plodding along merrily, but occasionally I have a day, or a moment within a day, when all of a sudden the gravity of what is going on in the world and its consequences hits me like a brick. Why is this happening? Why now? What does it mean?
In many ways I feel like life has been put on hold again because of Covid-19. The limitations we face mean we can’t do all those things we hoped and planned right now, and we don’t know when we will be able to again. It’s hard to plan for the future when there is so much uncertainty and so many unknowns.
The most important thing is you must stay positive, and amid the uncertainty, always, ALWAYS maintain hope. Know that things will get better.
Reflection of what’s important – don’t take anything for granted
My Crohn’s helped me reflect a lot on my life and made me realise what matters most. Anyone who has gone through life changing experiences or hardships has probably done a bit of soul searching. For many of us these last few months have been a big wakeup call and probably forced us to take a good look at our lives and reassess our priorities.
It’s also shown us not to take anything for granted! People with chronic illnesses don’t take their health for granted and make the most of the good days. This current situation has reinforced my appreciation for life, what’s important to me, reminded me to value the little things and make the most of every day!
Relationships, appreciation for our carers, and community
Crohn’s really showed me who my true friends were and forged closer relationships with the people I care about most. When you can’t leave the house due to chronic illness or are limited in your social interactions, you quickly realise which friends will take the time to check in with you, offer to come to your place instead of going to the pub, or visit you in hospital. It’s been the same with Covid-19 – true friends check in with each other regularly and take the time to have a chat or offer help if they can.
You also grow closer to the people who matter most in your life and form stronger bonds. Things I did to help manage my Crohn’s taught me to communicate better and speak about my feelings more. Michael and I opened up and talked about life, our fears and desires with an honesty we probably hadn’t before. Now with Covid-19, we are all talking more, hopefully communicating better, and possibly having some pretty big deep and meaningfuls about everything currently going on in the world.
I have always praised and been so thankful for the amazing care I receive for my IBD – the doctors, surgeons, nurses, hospital workers, all the incredible team who have helped manage my Crohn’s over the last ten years. Now, more than ever before, the whole world has come out expressing gratitude and support for our doctors, nurses and all the key workers helping fight Covid-19 every day. From whole neighbourhoods coming out to clap for our carers and children’s drawings of rainbows in house windows, to people like Captain Tom (and many others) raising money for charity. Captain Tom raised over £30 million for NHS Charities Together by walking laps in his garden in the lead up to his 100th birthday. What a champion! Whether we’ve been personally affected by Covid-19 or any other illness, everyone has a far greater appreciation for national health, all the health care workers and the incredible work they do every day.
It’s been equally uplifting to see people helping their neighbours, raising money or donating supplies, local businesses setting up food banks, and people in general looking out for each other. We are all in this together and there for each other. You are not alone. This message and sense of community is often seen in the IBD and ostomy community, and it’s lifted my heart to see the care and connections many are now showing and sharing during this difficult time.
I have three final parallels which I’ll write about in my next post. In the meantime, please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.
Take care and stay safe,
Laura x
stomalicious 
Another thoughtful and thought-provoking post. The parallels are very real indeed!
Most of the time, in the pre-op years when you were so sick, I would cope well (really, just like now, what choice was there?) but sometimes I would wake in the night panic-stricken and wondering how life could still be going on ‘normally’ when my daughter was so sick. It’s the same in a sense now: most of the time I just go on leading my (very changed but ‘normal’) life but sometimes I am overwhelmed and aghast and wondering how this can all really be happening.
The uncertainty is almost worse than the reality because uncertainty is so scary. Of course we never ‘know’ what tomorrow will bring but now that has been really underlined, just as it was when you were at your worst.
We never gave up hope and that hope has been fully rewarded with you leading your post-op life to the full . . . still I sometimes find myself reflecting on the fact that you DO still have a chronic illness (a reflection I have much more frequently in these Covid times) and I continue to ‘hope’ (the word doesn’t feel enough) that you don’t get sick, that you remain in remission, that all will be well. Worry doesn’t contribute positively to anything and so we must live our lives to the full, be grateful for all that we have, be filled with compassion and care for each other . . . maybe in the ‘new’ normal we will all do that more. 🙏
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