Crohn's Disease

Crohn’s disease is an incurable disease which affects the digestive tract. My daughter, Lee, has the most severe form of the disease. Her entire digestive tract's been affected, from ulcers in her mouth, down her esophogus, to her stomach, and throughout her intestines.



As with many Crohn's patients, my daughter also suffers from fistulas. Fistulas are large ulcers that bore their way into the tissue surrounding the rectum. Sometimes these fisulas cause abscesses. Lee has had 4 surgeries to drain such abscesses. Actually, I should say "to begin drainage", because they continue to drain for weeks afterward, which is very unpleasant.



Lee was getting Remicade infusions, which were working well. She had a dramatic decrease in symptoms for months. Unfortunately, during the last Remicade infusion, Lee had an allergic reaction, and stopped breathing. So she can't do any more treatments for a while, if ever again.



Lee's last hospitalization was due to a severe inflamation in her intestines. She was put on steriods for this, which bloat her up, and cause aggitation, and other nasty side affects.



So this is where we're at now. So, can you blame a mother for wanting to protect her daughter? Can you blame a mother for reasoning that maybe her daughter isn't thinking clearly with her insides turning to mush, and strong drugs coursing through her, and making her miserable?



Mothers have to make tough choices sometimes.