Last week I talked about what it means to be a PhD student in the social sciences, and what this stage of schooling looks like. I’ve mentioned before that I am studying health communication, but I find that this term is incredibly vague. Today I will talk about what health communication research is, and what it means to me.

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

My second semester of my doctorate program recently began, but instead of talking vaguely about how school is going, and I want to get specific. What exactly is involved with getting a PhD, especially in something as nebulous as communication? When I tell my friends or coworkers or family or people I meet that I’m working on a PhD, I usually get three responses: slight awe for earning an advanced degree, followed closely by thinly veiled revulsion that I actually chose to go to more school, and then confusion: what does a person do to get a PhD.

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

It’s not too early to think about Camp Oasis for summer 2012! Camp Oasis is a weeklong summer camp held in 12 states across the US for children and teens with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hosted by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. I’ve volunteered there for the past three years, and it’s been a truly life-changing and exciting experience.

My CCFA chapter recently informed me that staff applications will be available around the end of January. I’m not sure if all camps are on the same schedule as far as hiring volunteers, or when sign-up begins for children, but rest assured, camp will soon open up for volunteers and campers, so begin planning now if you want in on all the activities!

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

I just got back to Florida after a two-and-a-half week visit to North Dakota/Minnesota for the holidays, and man, am I spent! Flying to the other side of the country and back wasn’t the exhausting part—seeing all my people was, in a good way!

I saw lots of people in North Dakota, first family, then friends, then family again for Christmas, then friends again, then I went to Minnesota to visit all my friends there, then came back to North Dakota to see friends again before coming home.

Halfway through the vacation I started counting how many people I saw. Between family, close friends, distant friends, former co-workers, acquaintances, and even a few new people I met, I saw close to 60 people!

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

Back in North Dakota, there weren’t a lot of support group opportunities. When I was going through my three surgeries, I looked for support groups so I could talk to somebody about my ostomy and ulcerative colitis. Unfortunately, there were no support groups anywhere for IBD, as far as I could tell, and only one support group for ostomies.

The ostomy support group was at least 4 hours away, so I never did attend it.

However, now that I’m in Florida, I have many more support group opportunities. This state has tons of support groups for both inflammatory bowel disease and ostomies, including one five minutes from my apartment!

Even though my health is in pretty good shape right now and I only have minor issues, I thought I should at least check the group out this last semester. Here’s how it went.

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

Those of us with inflammatory bowel disease—Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis—probably felt a sinking feeling in our stomach when the doctor first told us, “IBD has no cure.” If there’s no cure, all we can do to manage the disease is treat it.

But treatment and cure mean different things to different people. Today I want to talk about how I view these two processes, and introduce a different concept that often isn’t discussed in IBD care: healing.

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

I’ve talked before about raising awareness for inflammatory bowel disease, and how being open about your disease can lead to strong connections with others who are suffering the same things as you. I’ve been reminded recently that connections I’ve made with people years ago still resonate today.

I have two examples. First, a friend that I made in college 7 years ago recently contacted me to update me on his life. We had a good friendship, but the tides of this world separated us and we haven’t spoken for a few years.

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

Having a chronic illness frequently puts life in perspective for me. The longer I live with inflammatory bowel disease, the more thankful I am for the good things in life: friends, family, moments of good health, and so on.

The first few years after I was diagnosed with IBD, I was thankful for the blessings I had in spite of my illness. But recently, I’ve been thankful for the illness itself.

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

This year I’m spending Thanksgiving in Florida instead of back home in North Dakota. That doesn’t mean, however, that I can’t partake in the festivities.

Last weekend the church I go to hosted their annual Fall Festival, a time of celebration, fun, and of course, food. Since arriving in Florida, I’ve been on the hunt for a home church, and I’ve attended some very strange churches. One felt more like a rock concert than a church, and another thinks impromptu hip-hop dances in the middle of the service are a good idea. This campus church that I settled on, however, is more my speed, and the Fall Festival showed me that these students know how to have a good time.

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis

As you know, I moved to Florida three months ago, and have slowly but surely gotten settled in here. One task that I’m still in the process of completing is the transfer of my medical care. Back in North Dakota I had an established GI team that I saw periodically. Since my surgery three years ago, I’ve seen them for pouchitis a couple times, and for continuing monitoring of my liver (for possible primary sclerosing cholangitis).

I’ve put the transfer of my medical care on the backburner because I feel fine and have no pressing GI issues, but I know it’s important to establish a relationship with a new doctor so that, if a problem arises, I have somebody to go to.

I never expected this process to be so complicated.

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Keep fighting,
~Dennis