The IBD community is flooded with countless female advocates. I’ve recently been vocal about the need for more men to stand up, share their stories, and be a voice for the community. If you attend a conference or an IBD patient advocate event, 90 percent of the room is female, the same can be said for social media.
This is surprising since according to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, IBD affects men and women equally. That being said, in my experience speaking with men young and old with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis—many tend to suffer in silence, downplay their pain, or prefer to keep to themselves about their struggles. While the disease may physically manifest itself and impact men in different ways, it’s the way many feel embarrassed to share their experience, that I wish could change. 
This week—a guest post from Colby Reade. Colby is a husband and a dad who also has Crohn’s disease. He shares insight about his struggles to find a balance between IBD and family life, while offering helpful advice for how to be a “Super Dad” despite your illness. I’ll let him take it away…
I grew up believing my dad was a superhero. There was nothing he didn’t know or couldn’t fix. He would spend hours with my brother and me teaching us how to hit a curve ball or box out a defender on the basketball court. He worked insanely hard to help provide us with a comfortable life. He showed us what it meant to be a partner in a marriage. In my eyes, he was “Super Dad.”
For as long as I can recall, I wanted to live up to that image and a little over four years ago, I got my opportunity when my wife gave birth to our daughter. Nothing is more important to me than being a solid dad and husband. Fatherhood is undoubtedly the most rewarding experience of my life, but also the hardest thing I’ve ever chosen to tackle largely because it is so important to me to be good at it. 
Unfortunately, life through us a curveball in 2017. What I thought was a case of nervous stomach from a stressful stretch at work turned out to be a Crohn’s flare that lasted 10 months. Not only was I terrified about all the symptoms (digestion issues, pain, fatigue, weight loss), but I felt myself struggling to take on the most important “job” I had.
I was too tired to play or engage when I came home from work…flopping on the ottoman in our living room, trying to pry my eyes open.
I was in pain all the time and struggled to find joy in daddy-daughter games.
I was terrified to be more than five feet from a bathroom so outings to the mall, the zoo or the beach were on hold.
It took time and some trial and error, but as I navigate my somewhat new diagnosis, my wife and I have learned how to best monitor my symptoms to try and avoid future flares and take Crohn’s on as a family. In addition to my medical care, this includes some key strategies to how we approach parenting.
Here’s 5 ways we tackle parenting with Crohn’s:
- Explain to your kiddo what’s going on. This has to be done age-appropriately of course, but it’s important that you don’t hide from your children that you are sick. It is not a failure to admit that you have an illness. Communicate to them that you are under the weather and need their help to adjust your usual routine until you feel better. My kiddo LOVES playing nurse and taking care of her mom or me when we are sick so we can make it into a game.
- Create activities that don’t involve a lot of energy. While the digestive problems were hard, the fatigue was the worst for me. We started a list of low-energy activities I can do if I find myself mid-flare, such as board games, playing with my daughter’s doll house, and working on crafts.
- Communicate with your significant other and boss.
My wife is amazing and understands the physical impacts of a flare, but it’s my job to share with her if I’m feeling Crohn’s-y. Similarly, I have started a dialogue with my boss, so if I flare, I don’t have to pour every ounce of limited energy I have into work and come home completely empty. - Find an online community. It can be tempting when you are sick to start Googling your symptoms. This can be a big mistake with IBD because everyone’s case is different and the treatment plan for one person will be greatly different from another’s. However, engaging with an online community either on Twitter, through a Facebook group or an online forum, can be a great resource to gather measured feedback and share your experience.
- Be kind to yourself. As modern, involved dads we put ourselves under tremendous pressure to be both provider and nurturer. When our bodies are compromised, it can feel like we are failing, weak, and less than. Whether you talk with a counselor, join a support group, or meditate… or all of the above, it’s important to find ways to remind yourself that just because your body is taking on IBD, you are still Super Dad.
You can connect with Colby on Twitter and Instagram (@colbyreade).
This week–
Make a list of everything you’re interested in and then prioritize, cutting out what you don’t have your heart set on. Trying to do it all sets you up for exhaustion, frustration, and disappointment. 
She’s a 30-year-old mom and wife from Utah, who works full-time outside the home. She’s battled Crohn’s disease since December 2011. 
My mom did an amazing job making sure our lives did not revolve around her disease. She did her best to stay healthy and support us. I want my daughter to have the same experience as I had growing up. I don’t want her to ever feel the burden of my disease. I want her to know that no matter how difficult life gets, there is always hope. My mom is the one person I can call who fully understands my struggles. To have another family member that has and is dealing with the same chronic health issues is a huge support. I am very grateful for her.
I remember explaining to him at one point that this disease would be something I will deal with my whole life and it was okay for him to leave me. It’s really hard to put my relationship with my husband into words. When it comes to Crohn’s, the thought of all he does to support me, makes me tear up. He knew that after our wedding day he would take my mom’s place at all my appointments and be my sole caregiver. Nate never shied away from the challenge and it makes me love him more and more everyday. He is my number one and having support from him means the world to me.
Prior to the challenges and the hurt that coincide with having a disease that you expect to have until your dying day. It’s heavy and can be overwhelming. There’s no cure for IBD and once you are told you have it, your world and your life is forever altered.
Crohn’s has shown me that just because I get knocked down with a flare, doesn’t mean I can’t bounce back and be better. With Crohn’s, life often feels like you’re in the passenger seat and your fate is out of your hands. Rather than sit back passively, I choose to grab the wheel. Cheers to 36!
I chose to blog and become a patient advocate for several reasons. I was tired of feeling isolated. I wanted to be a voice for the newly diagnosed, as well as the veteran patient. And, as a journalist, I’ve always had a love for the written word. For me—expressing myself through writing comes a lot easier than saying the words out loud.
In that time, I’ve shared 171 new articles (because some weeks I post on Mondays AND Wednesdays). Over the last three years, more than 105,000 people from around the world have checked out Lights, Camera, Crohn’s. Could the articles be organized better? Yes. Could the design be snazzier? Yes. But, my focus as an IBD blogger and advocate is to give you the nitty gritty. I’d rather spend my time and energy on content vs. design.
It feels like a fiery pain inside my rib cage that travels all the way down my stomach. The gnawing makes me feel raw internally and externally. I put my glasses on and as I’m standing up and rocking my daughter in her nursery, I try to think of her warm little body as a heating pad.
The fact that so many people without IBD are under the assumption that our pain and symptoms are self- imposed upsets me. We already beat ourselves up mentally as it is. My husband and I took our son for ice cream last night, so immediately I wonder if all of my pain is a result of the choice to have ice cream with my 2-year-old.
If you’re struggling, tell them. The more you keep your mask on and your wall up, the more your partner will think you have everything under control and that your IBD isn’t much of a “big deal” in your life.
To the person nervous to open up in a relationship and disclose they have this disease…
To the person worried about passing this dreadful disease onto their children…
Now, nearly 14 years later—her and I have come a LONG way. She’s on Remicade. I’m on Humira. We are both mothers. We are both wives. Alisa didn’t allow her disease to stop her from following her personal or professional dreams. In 2013, she left corporate America and founded 
I multi-task everything, stay on top of my biologic infusions, rest when possible and, plan my diet loosely around a mix of SCD and low gluten eating. Getting help is difficult, but I feel lucky to have a supportive husband and local family network. My travel schedule wears me down– but thankfully most of my disease symptoms are well controlled.
Babywearing helps me effectively multi-task and meet my all children’s needs at the same time. It also helps address postpartum depression, by syncing mother and baby, and raising oxytocin levels. I believe babywearing is a necessity that should be taught to every single expecting parent and caregiver!
As a bonus, a variety of baby carriers can be adjusted to accommodate an ostomy or j-pouch.
When you’re in the thick of a flare and when feel good days feel far from ever being a possibility, try and remember how fleeting these moments are.
today he’s a rumbustious, adorable, little ball of energy. Sure, we age, too—but we also mature mentally when it comes to our illness. What felt like the biggest obstacle and scare of our life, evolves into something that is a part of who we are, an identity that while not ideal, helps to define us.
But I can promise you, that as life goes on and as the years since that moment of diagnosis get further and further in the rear view mirror, you will find a comfort in this identity.
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