Today is three months since my last surgery. I have been meaning to update for a while, but finally as a healthy adult, I have been making up for lost time. I certainly have more energy. I have been going out and having fun, and no one would ever know what I went through a mere three months ago. I am not 100%. There’s always room for improvement. Besides the one scar where my stoma was, almost all of the other ones are way better. I have been exercising and running, not a whole lot, but enough to know that doing so does not hurt me. There are still some parts of my lower stomach that are numb to the touch, I am hoping in time that feeling will come back. I eat almost everything. I notice some things make me go to the bathroom more often than others. Spicy food, for example. There’s never been a time I had to RUSH to the bathroom. I can always hold it when I need to. Sometimes if I wait a little long I get cramps that are a bit uncomfortable, but something I would trade over Colitis any day of the week. Drinking is not a problem. In fact, I’d argue I go to the bathroom less when I am drinking… go figure. I wake up every night. Last night I woke up three times. It’s the only thing I really hate dealing with post-surgery. I think on average I am going about 6 times a day not including night trips. Depending on what I eat it may be a little more or less. There is no food I have eaten that has really given me problems to the point where I thought afterwards, “Okay, no more of that.” I have been golfing. Not as much as I’d like, but it feels good to be able to swing a club again, despite the amount of work my golf game needs.

I began this blog in the middle of April of this year. To date, there have been just over 11,000 views. I’d say that’s pretty damn good. Originally, the hope was to make a documentary of the whole experience. Because of how fast the illness snuck up on me the last time, it wasn’t feasible. A blog was something I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to do, but in hindsight, I am glad that I did. I get messages at least once a week, sometimes more, from others going through, or about to go through the same thing. To know one person’s mind was put to ease after reading, is really all I could ask for, so to see so many different people all across the country commenting and reaching out, means a lot.

Colitis sucks. It’s awful. So was the surgery. Easily the hardest thing I ever have gone through. I hope I never have to go through anything like that again. I can’t say for sure how I’ll feel in a year from now, never mind 10 years from now…but only three months out and I can say, without a doubt in my mind, surgery was the thing to do. No question. I can only imagine as time goes on the feeling will only become stronger. It changed my life. I’ll sporadically update as I think to, or if something comes up. I have a follow up in early December up at Chapel Hill, maybe expect a post then! Enjoy the holidays!