Day 3

Day 3: What is the greatest amount of physical pain you have ever endured?

This one's actually pretty easy.

I've hurt myself a lot over the years; skateboarding was particularly bad for my body's well-being, resulting in my head hitting asphalt a half-dozen times, several twisted ankles, and a severely sprained wrist (I was trying to clear a 7-stair, which I totally did, but the cushions weren't thick enough to stop the board from touching the wheels when I landed, which stopped the wheels, which stopped the board, which, unfortunately, did not stop me. After eating it really bad the first time, I did what any sensible person would, and tried again. I kept my face from smashing into the concrete by absorbing all my momentum in my right wrist only).

My brief stunt with bikes resulted in me not quite landing several jumps of a dirt kicker some friends and I made out in the desert. My not-landing-it was mostly the result of the bike I was using. I purchased the frame from a friend, the wheels were possibly different sizes, and the chain was actually hobbled together from 3 different chains, and if I petaled too fast, it would break apart. That didn't last long, and my shins have several scars from that.

But by a large margin, my Crohn's Disease has caused the greatest total pain, and the greatest single-experience pain in my life. Thankfully, with Remicade and the Azathioprine I take, I usually range from a 0 on the pain scale to a "I shouldn't have eaten at Taco Bell twice today" level of discomfort. Every so often there'll be some stomach cramping, or a flare up and my guts will be kind of uncomfortable but it's much better than it was before.

But I can remember the Dark Days before Remicade, when it felt like there were daggers inside my intestines trying to stab their way out, as well as daggers outside my stomach trying to poke their way in. Sometimes it was simultaneous. There was one time I couldn't do anything but lay on my bed in the fetal position and cry. I'm not terribly prone to crying (which isn't to say I never do, but it takes some doing), but there was nothing I could do. No pain pills helped, no pressure helped, I just had to ride the stabbings like some sort of...guy...who...gets stabbed. From the inside. That guy's life sucks.

Like I said, that sucked, but it's a lot better now.

Hooray for Crohn's, for making an easy decision for a blog post I guess? Silver linings, right guys?

Words: 424, which means I need to write a bit in my book-book!