Name:
Nicola Bennett
What year were you diagnosed and with which form of IBD?
I was diagnosed in 2012 with Crohn's Disease.
Have you identified anything that triggers you, and if so what?
I find that salad foods and raw fruit are big triggers for my symptoms and have to be avoided during a flare up.
Highlight an invisible symptom of inflammatory bowel disease which you feel affects you:
For me this has to be pain, as I don't really remember what its like to wake up and not be in some level of it. Pain cannot be measured by others and is subjective, so when we say we're in agony, people think we're exaggerating or that we just want sympathy, but IBDers really do suffer with agonizing pain and its not just in our stomachs, its everywhere, not even our minds escape. Being in pain in every part of your body is exhausting, it drains every crumb of energy and it crushes your soul, but we fight on, we put on a smile and we get on with our day, and no one would know the crippling agony we face on both physical and emotional levels.
Name one thing you feel like you've learnt or gained since having Inflammatory Bowel Disease:
I have learnt not to sweat the small stuff and to be my own advocate. I know thats' a cliche but its true, I had to fight for years in order to get a diagnosis, I was told so many times that it was just one of those things, I had eating disorders thrown at me and was mocked by peers. At first, it tore me apart, I was young and impressionable, but then I realized that I knew I was right, and whatever anyone did they couldn't change that. So I stopped worrying about the silly comments and the ignorance, and set about fighting for what I needed. It's made me a very determined person and I no longer waste time on people or things that will drag me down.
What makes you an #IBDSuperHero?
To me, getting up each day and facing the world makes us all superheroes. IBDers deal with far more than healthy people will ever understand. We face a never-ending battle that we know we might not win, but we do it with our heads held high.Even the most ordinary task can be like climbing a mountain. Personally, I am proud to be an IBDer. I never know from one day to the next what Crohn's is going to throw at me but I face each day with determination, I may fall, but I always get up. Crohn's has won a battle or two, but we will win the war.
Comments
Post a Comment