Crohn's Disease Sucks Big Time!

I was originally thinking this would be a blog about my Crohn's, but so far I have written nothing about that.  Now is the time.  Please don't mind the graphic nature or gross things I may share.

I have been having a few bad weeks.  I started out with what I thought might be a flu-type thing.  I actually vomited.  That hasn't happened in a LONG time.  Then the following week, I had nausea again.  I didn't actually vomit and was better in 1 day this time.  When you are sick like that once, you wonder if it is a bug.  When it happens again, you stop thinking that.  I felt somewhat OK for a week or so.  Then the diarrhea hit.  Along with an anal fissure which is just as painful as can be.  So now I am in the bathroom 2-3 times in the a.m. and 1 time at night.  It is all super watery.  This does not help that fissure.

I am scheduled for my next Remicade in 6 days, so I am trying to hold out until then and see what happens between doses this next time.  If I have to same problems, I guess it is time to see the GI.

What stinks about all this is that I have been doing relatively well on the Remicade. And I had to fight tooth and nail to get the stupid insurance company to pay for me to have it every 6 weeks.  Now that that is resolved, the Remicade may be losing its effectiveness.  I mean, come on!!!  Can I not get a break here?  Why after all this struggle can something just not go smoothly?  I guess that is the life of a Crohnie.  Sometimes it is just plain depressing.

Thank you Cubbies

The Cubs got swept by the Mets in the NLCS series.  I feel bad that such an awesome set of guys had to lose the way they did, but what an amazing team!  It was so much fun watching them because they were having so much fun playing.  I look forward to the years to come with them.  Thank you for making baseball fun for me again!

Here is the a video of the  team going back out on the field after being eliminated. Classy group!
http://wgntv.com/2015/10/22/watch-cubs-return-to-field-after-loss-and-thank-fans-at-wrigley/

Chicago Sports

The Cubs are in the playoffs.  This first time since 2008.   I was extremely mad at the team when they were swept in both 2007 and 2008; mainly because the players looked like they just weren't trying. And the management acted like they didn't care. I was so upset that I vowed never to let myself get so emotionally involved with the Cubs ever again. Even though I am not quite as involved with this team as I was then, I am still excited.  But also nervous.  Regardless of how today's wildcard playoff game goes, I will be grateful to this team for making baseball exciting for me again.

The Blackhawks home opener is today with the Cup banner ceremony before. Luckily the banner ceremony is 1/2 hour before the Cubs game starts, so I can catch the ceremony and then watch the Cubs game.  Of course I will be flipping to the Hawks game as well.

Check this out.  Had seats on the glass for last Saturday's pre-season Hawks game. It was so awesome! Who cares that it was pre-season? It was still a once in a lifetime thing.   Hello Bicks!

The Martian (big time spoilers)

I just finished reading this book for the 2nd time.  It was just as wonderful the 2nd time as the 1st.  I knew how it would end and was still on the edge of my seat.  This is not even the type of book I would normally read.  Brian "Q" Quinn and Sal Vulcano, 2 of my favorite people in the world, have a podcast - "What Say you?"  Q highly recommended the book and I decided to give it a read.  I highly recommend it as well.

I took the day off yesterday to go see the movie.  I prefer to go in the afternoon on a weekday but it was still crowded!  gggrrrrrr...  I was very afraid that they would ruin it.  But they did a really good job. I was still on the edge of my seat even after reading the book twice!  It was actually a little creepy to see it "live" instead of just reading about it.

Here come the spoilers:
For the most part, they followed the book.  Of course there were details in the book that couldn't make it to the movie, but nothing vital. One problem I had with the movie was that they had Captain Lewis harnessed to Hermes to come and "catch" Mark when he jettisoned from the MAV.  I don't think it was necessary to do that. Seeing that process on the big screen looked a little preposterous, but it was still fun.  Also, instead of having a final log as was in the book, the end of the movie showed all the astronauts (including Mark) in the future and what they were doing now. I'm not sure I really liked that.  The final log was so touching in the book.  I liked that ending better.

But all in all, it was a terrific movie and I would recommend seeing it whether or not you read the book.  It is very enjoyable and Matt Damon is excellent.

Kitty scare

Well, Kougar managed to scare the crap out of me again last night.  He made that low rumbling meowing sound when he was out of my sight.  I thought he was having another "episode".  Turns out he was just complaining about something.  I found him on the bed just cleaning himself like everything was normal.  Dorky cat.  It's amazing how these creatures worm their ways into our hearts!  The fact that he is 17 and has arrhythmia doesn't help.  But all was fine.

Allegiant - BIG TIME SPOILERS

So I just finished rereading "Allegiant".   The 1st time I read the series I really enjoyed all 3 books. When the "Divergent" movie came out, I fell in love again.  I must have watched that movie 50 times and still continue to watch it every time it is on cable.  I decided to reread the series.  Loved the 1st book again.  Thought the 2nd one was OK.  Then I went to see "Insurgent".  The movie was so-so.  I thought they way overdid the special effects.  It's like they were try to be "The Matrix" with the slo-mo action scenes.  It was WAY over the top.  Plus there were some plot lines that they changed for no discernible reason.

Now for "Allegiant".  Here come the SPOILER so be cautious.

They have Tris die.  They killed her off!!  I cannot believe that.  I was so mad and upset with the series. I'm not sure why this made me so angry when this was the 2nd time I read the book.  The only reason I can think of is that I put a face to the character when watching the movies.  Maybe that made me more invested.  I love Shailene Woodley as Tris and Theo James as Four.  I mean, I LOVE Theo James as Four. This could be why her death made me so angry.  Kind of an anti-climax to an exciting series.  Very disappointed.

Starting again

Well, I have decided to continue writing the blog.  I don't know if anyone with actually read it because I am not going to advertise it or even tell anyone that I have written it.  I've just seen several of my Crohnies write blogs about their "journeys" and figured I would do one as well.  But it won't be just about my Crohn's disease and how it is affecting me.  I would like to write about other things as well.  I'm just not sure that I have anything interesting to say.  Or that anyone would actually be interested in reading what I have to say.   I have always been interested in writing but have never taken any formal writing classes since college.  I won't say how long ago that was!

Is it customary to share information about myself and my background?  I have no clue.  So here is a little info.  I live in the western suburbs of Chicago and have lived there all my life.  I went to Rockford College and received a BA in Psychology.  After graduation, I worked at the Hinsdale Humane Society for 9 years. In the last few years there, I attended College of DuPage and received a Library Technical Assistant certificate.  During my coursework, I interned at Midwestern University Library and was hired there after my coursework was done.  I have been working at the MWU Library ever since.

So I am looking forward to posting more here.  Thanks for reading!

Linda