Staying For-Real Happy... With A Life-Changing Illness

Living With a Chronic Illness Isn’t Easy—but It’s Slightly More Manageable When You’re Funny, Poetic and Pro Found, Like Shannon Barry. Here, the Blogger Shares Her Struggle With Crohn’s Disease— and Explains Why Being Sick Is *not* a Shortcoming.

- Shannon Barry

My name is Shannon Barry and I am a very flawed human being. I think it’s good to be upfront about that. Here are some of the flaws I’d like others to be aware of when they meet me: I’m ready to cry at any moment (it’s best not to test this). I still love cartoons best, despite being in my early 20s. I might be the only person on earth who *doesn’t* love dogs (and I think it’s ridiculous I have to include that, but it’s true). And I might be a little too optimistic...although maybe that’s not such a bad thing. (There I go again.)

This isn’t a complete list, there are more, and you get the idea. But one thing that will never be on that list? My disease.

I am one of the almost 800,000 people in the U.S. with Crohn’s disease—and let’s just say that it complicates my life a bit. Crohn’s is a gastrointestinal disorder that affects the lining of my digestive tract and causes all sorts of exciting symptoms—ranging from the simple stuff, like diarrhea and fatigue, to issues as serious as a fistula (an abnormal connection between organs) or an abscess (a lump filled with pus), which can require surgery.

So how’d I end up with this dreaded diagnosis? I had been experiencing symptoms all my life—they’d oscillate between bouts of diarrhea and constipation, intense cramping that kept me up at night and daylong vomiting spells (bleh).