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.
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.
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.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
This last weekend I was in Dallas, Texas for a working vacation of sorts. My co-host at UCVlog, Nadia, and I periodically meet to make videos, discuss future plans for the website, and have a little fun (if there’s time left in the day). This last year Nadia was extremely busy moving down to Texas, and undergoing two surgeries to make her ostomy permanent, so there was a considerable gap between visits.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
As we know, bowel diseases can be difficult to talk about interpersonally with those around you. We fear that people don’t want to hear about our problems, or that they won’t understand. Fortunately, the internet offers many opportunities to share your story with others who know exactly what you are going through.
While the opportunities to share are numerous, and the barriers to share are fewer than sharing face-to-face, many people do not share their stories. Today I want to encourage you that, no matter what your health condition is, your viewpoint is valuable to others and needs to be shared.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
These last couple weeks we’ve been talking about health literacy; the importance of understanding medical information, and understanding your health well enough to make good medical decisions. We’ll finish the discussion this week talking about a related concept, patient advocacy.
There are such people as professional patient advocates, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Today, we’re talking about being your own advocate for your health.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Last week we discussed the importance of health literacy, which is the ability to understand medical information and to follow treatment orders. At some point in your medical journey, you won’t simply be doing whatever the doctor tells you to do. You may have to make a decision about your health, about which treatment option is best, and it’s times like these that health literacy is even more crucial.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Health literacy may be a term you haven’t heard before. It’s something health professionals like to discuss. Health literacy is the ability to read and understand medical information, to follow doctor’s instructions and treatments, and to make informed decisions about your health.
Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, study after study show that many people, especially low-educated or disadvantaged people, lack basic health literacy, which can lead to misinterpreting treatment plans or inaccurate health beliefs.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
In my health class recently the professor asked, “What does it mean to be healthy?” Everybody had a different idea, but one response caught my attention.
“Being healthy means being free of disease,” one woman said.
Put on the breaks! What? If I have a disease, then I am not healthy?
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Question: What does it mean, for you, to be healthy? Reply to this post or post your answer on our Facebook fan page.
For those who have been following, last month I moved to Florida to begin my PhD in health communication. The 1,700+ mile drive across the country was uneventful, which I’m happy with.
And so far, Florida has met or exceeded all of my expectations.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
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