Tumblr « A Guy With Crohn's

I realized this morning that since I changed domains from Tumblr to WordPress, I hadn’t done any of my follows on Fridays. I have been preoccupied with my blogs and haven’t focused much on them..so I apologise.

So, to restart the follows, I am going to highlight a website that I have been looking at a lot more lately. This one is http://www.wegohealth.com and it doesn’t just focus on IBD. The great thing about this site is that they cover almost any health condition out there. It is an interactive site, meaning there are groups where you can write and connect with other people. What is great is since a lot of people with IBD suffer from other ailments also, you can connect and get information from all your ailments on this one site. This site also has articles to read and they seem to highlight and talk about different diseases every month. If you are on Twitter, they can be found at @wegohealth and every Tuesday they run an interactive chat.

Another site that I think is really good is http://stopthinkingstartwriting.blogspot.com/ This one is written by a woman named Amanda. She, like so many others with a disease, is having a rough time. She has been undiagnosed now for almost 4 years but is a tough trooper and is still fighting. A lot of her symptoms point to IBD but as many of us know, sometimes it is just hard to pinpoint the area that is affected and causing the problems. Her blog is very well written and one day she will be a famous writer. For all you caring people out there, don’t be scared to reach out to Amanda if you think you can help or just want to lend some support. Too much support never hurt anyone.

Well, that is my picks for this week. Enjoy your weekend and stay safe this July 4th.

Over the weekend my eyes were opened to just how insensitive people can be, especially to someone with IBD. Most names will be left out so as not to totally offend the parties involved in the incident.

Many of you might read Crohn’s Advocate and recently read an article in there about Mike McCready who is the lead guitarist for Pearl Jam. The article talks about his struggles with Crohn’s Disease and how he turned it into a positive experience. I found this article to be great and I found a new respect for him and Pearl Jam. So, on Friday night, while on Facebook, I saw a link from The Great Bowel Movement directing everyone to Like a comment made by another activist to a radio DJ in Chicago. Turns out this DJ made a comment (I believe on air) about how Mike McCready should have stayed silent about his disease and referenced the article on their Facebook page.

Well, that was enough to set me off. Attack a fellow IBDer from one of my favorite bands of all time. Gloves were off. The original activist that heard the comment was heading out and couldn’t continue to fight this battle, so I picked up the baton and ran like the wind. I must have posted in 10 different groups on Facebook with a link and description of what happened. I then went to Twitter and Tumblr and again posted. I also Twitted Mike himself to let him know what happened. I don’t know if he read the Tweet.

As of 7:30 pm on Saturday there are 91 comments on the Facebook page from many IBDers. Everyone was attacking the DJ. Eventually the DJ tried to apologize, but he compared what we go through with his withdrawal from drugs. Needless to say that drew more irate comments.

I truly couldn’t believe how many people flocked to Mike’s defense. It brought tears to my eyes that I could not only rally so many people to help out Mike but that so many people could be so open about their disease.

People…Crohn’s and Colitis is a serious disease. It isn’t just a stomach flu or some slight tummy ache. There is a lot going on within the body with these diseases. When will people realize that they are serious diseases. If your going to talk about any disease, joking or not, make sure you know about it. Don’t be ignorant.

Mike McCready…if you are reading this (I know your not but I can dream), you have a community behind you. You have done so much for us and we have your back. Thank you for all that you have done, all the money you have raised, and blessing us with your sweet sound that your fingers make. Keep up the great work and help stamp out not only IBD but stupidity and insensitivity.