My life is shitty.
No, no, no. I can’t say that, they’ll think I’m suicidal.
My life is in the toilet.
Ditto.
Saturday, May 19th is World IBD Day. World Irritable Bowel Disease Day.
That’s it!
Recently I learned about this, umm, holiday. It is a very personal one for me. Way more personal than I want to admit. But of course it’s not my fault. I blame my sister, Judy.
You see, some time in the late sixties Judy pasted a picture on the front of the medicine cabinet above the toilet in our one bathroom.
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Little did I know at whatever tender age I was that that picture would illustrate my life. Because in 1972, not long after it went up, I found out that I had ulcerative colitis. An inflammatory bowel disease. The bloody flux. I was in and out of the bathroom and the hospital for much of my teens and early 20s. What a blast!
Long story short, it ended up that I didn’t have colitis! But we only found that out when a bunch of men (led by Dr. Herbert Hoover) came at me with knives, removed my large intestine and reorganized my plumbing. That was when they found out that I really had Crohn’s Disease.
Crohn’s Disease, is, well, worse. Partly because I can’t for the life of me spell it. But also because it means I still spend way too much time in the bathroom (although I am very well read). Oh, and it can affect the entire rest of your body. Trust me when I say it’s nasty, and that there is no cure. I would be delighted if that were to change in my lifetime.
That’s why I’m divugling my secret to tell you that Saturday is World Inflammatory Bowl Disease Day.
As far as I can tell there are no festivities planned here in the U.S., although there are some in other countries (the ones that have universal health care, no doubt).
So, I thought up some IBD-related activities myself:
A toilet paper squeezing contest!
What a perv
A wet tee-shirt contest:
Contestants try to stay dry in a stall inhabited by a toilet with an automatic flushing mechanism!
No umbrellas allowed!
Lastly, a relay race around a circle comprised of 50 porta-poties set up on a public green!
(The winner of this last one gets to use a non-self-flushing toilet inside a nearby building when they feel the need, which, of course, they will. Repeatedly.)
I’m quite sure the organizers will contact me to help think up activities for next year’s festivities.
This year, folks are asked to be aware of World IBD Day and to wear purple. I understand the awareness part of it – and I would really like to celebrate World IBD Day.
So let’s
- Do more research to find a cure!
- Stop running to the bathroom!
- Take the “ooh” out of “POOH”!
So yeah, I get the raising awareness part. But purple? Wouldn’t brown be a better color?
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For a less snarky take on Crohn’s and World IBD Day, see LifeFromTheSmallestRoom‘s piece on living with the disease.
FiftyFourandAHalf 