Coastland :: Crohn's Disease

Crohn's Disease

A little over 2 years ago I became very sick. I hadn’t felt well on and off for about 5 years, but thought it was just due to tiredness from having small children.

I went to have a few tests and things quickly became much worse. I ended up in hospital needing mild surgery and was then diagnosed with Chrohn’s disease.

Chrohn’s Disease is an auto immune disease where your immune system attacks a part of your digestive system. In my case it was attacking a part of my intestine.

The doctors were unsure as to what was the cause but assured me that they could have it under control and I would be feeling better soon. I was put on medication to try and have the symptoms under control in hope that the disease would eventually go into remission. Things became even worse. I tried all sorts of treatments, medications, natural therapies and eliminated a lot of different foods from my diet. The day to day symptoms were dull to severe pain where I would end up in bed weeks at a time. My insides were completely swollen and scared and I would be constantly running to the toilet, I lost a lot of weight and was weak and tired all the time. During this time I was told that the life long out come would be surgeries to remove parts of my bowel and a high risk of bowel cancer. I was also told that it would be unwise of me to have any more children because of what it could do to my body. All the while living with the constant side effects of what the medication was doing to me. The disease was literally dictating to me what my day to day life would be like from now on if God didn’t heal me.

In August 2006, I was rushed to hospital in severe pain and they wanted to operate. Thank God they didn’t.

My specialist said to me that he didn’t know what we should do next, in fear that perhaps we were looking at years of trying all sorts of things to get me better, with no guarantees.

In December 2006, I had to go off the immune suppressants because they were damaging my liver and next I would need a liver transplant. I then went on osteoporosis treatment because the steroids I had been taking to help with the symptoms, as well as controlling the Rheumatoid Arthritis (also an auto immune disease) which I was diagnosed with back in July 2006, had made my bones thin and brittle. So I gradually weaned off the steroids and in the mean time my specialist wanted me to try another type of medication which was so strong that if I did happen to fall pregnant I would most certainly need to terminate the pregnancy because the birth defects caused by the medication would be severe.

We decided to say ‘no’ and instead trusted God that once I was completely weaned from the steroids my body would be fine. My specialist said “ok, call me when you get rushed back to hospital again”.

By the middle of March, 2007, I was off all medication and have continued to have no signs of the disease what so ever. I have been back to my specialists a few times to have blood tests done and I am completely fine. Medically the doctors say that the disease has gone into remission which means it usually comes back within 12 months. However, I know that God has touched me and I haven’t felt this well in a long time. My specialist has been amazed at how my health has had such a drastic turn around, we tell him it is all because of God.

It has been the toughest 2 years of my life, physically and emotionally. There were days I didn’t want to go on and I begged God to take me home to be with Him. The heartache it was causing my children was too much to bear. But God carried me through. He is such a loving and faithful Father.

As Christians we are not immune from suffering, we do live in a fallen world. However, God’s word is full of promises for us to hold on to and believe when everything around us is falling apart. God is good to us all the time no matter what the circumstances, the bible says that He is faithful to all His promises and that He does not lie. His word is the final authority over everything that we may face in this life.

I know this to be completely true. If you are going through a tough situation, be it sickness, relational, financial or anything else, my encouragement to you is to keep your eyes on God. Believe Him at His word. He is the same God from yesterday, today and forever. Only God has the power to bring healing, wholeness and breakthroughs to your life, so put your faith in Him and when things don’t seem to be changing don’t be tempted to doubt but keep on praising and trusting Him because He cares greatly for you.

Rebecca Prosser




	Crohn's Disease A little over 2 years ago I became very sick. I hadn’t felt well on and off for about 5 years, but thought it was just due to tiredness from having small children. I went to have a few tests and things quickly became much worse. I ended up in hospital needing mild surgery and was then diagnosed with Chrohn’s disease. Chrohn’s Disease is an auto immune disease where your immune system attacks a part of your digestive system. In my case it was attacking a part of my intestine. The doctors were unsure as to what was the cause but assured me that they could have it under control and I would be feeling better soon. I was put on medication to try and have the symptoms under control in hope that the disease would eventually go into remission. Things became even worse. I tried all sorts of treatments, medications, natural therapies and eliminated a lot of different foods from my diet. The day to day symptoms were dull to severe pain where I would end up in bed weeks at a time. My insides were completely swollen and scared and I would be constantly running to the toilet, I lost a lot of weight and was weak and tired all the time. During this time I was told that the life long out come would be surgeries to remove parts of my bowel and a high risk of bowel cancer. I was also told that it would be unwise of me to have any more children because of what it could do to my body. All the while living with the constant side effects of what the medication was doing to me. The disease was literally dictating to me what my day to day life would be like from now on if God didn’t heal me. In August 2006, I was rushed to hospital in severe pain and they wanted to operate. Thank God they didn’t. My specialist said to me that he didn’t know what we should do next, in fear that perhaps we were looking at years of trying all sorts of things to get me better, with no guarantees. In December 2006, I had to go off the immune suppressants because they were damaging my liver and next I would need a liver transplant. I then went on osteoporosis treatment because the steroids I had been taking to help with the symptoms, as well as controlling the Rheumatoid Arthritis (also an auto immune disease) which I was diagnosed with back in July 2006, had made my bones thin and brittle. So I gradually weaned off the steroids and in the mean time my specialist wanted me to try another type of medication which was so strong that if I did happen to fall pregnant I would most certainly need to terminate the pregnancy because the birth defects caused by the medication would be severe. We decided to say ‘no’ and instead trusted God that once I was completely weaned from the steroids my body would be fine. My specialist said “ok, call me when you get rushed back to hospital again”. By the middle of March, 2007, I was off all medication and have continued to have no signs of the disease what so ever. I have been back to my specialists a few times to have blood tests done and I am completely fine. Medically the doctors say that the disease has gone into remission which means it usually comes back within 12 months. However, I know that God has touched me and I haven’t felt this well in a long time. My specialist has been amazed at how my health has had such a drastic turn around, we tell him it is all because of God. It has been the toughest 2 years of my life, physically and emotionally. There were days I didn’t want to go on and I begged God to take me home to be with Him. The heartache it was causing my children was too much to bear. But God carried me through. He is such a loving and faithful Father. As Christians we are not immune from suffering, we do live in a fallen world. However, God’s word is full of promises for us to hold on to and believe when everything around us is falling apart. God is good to us all the time no matter what the circumstances, the bible says that He is faithful to all His promises and that He does not lie. His word is the final authority over everything that we may face in this life. I know this to be completely true. If you are going through a tough situation, be it sickness, relational, financial or anything else, my encouragement to you is to keep your eyes on God. Believe Him at His word. He is the same God from yesterday, today and forever. Only God has the power to bring healing, wholeness and breakthroughs to your life, so put your faith in Him and when things don’t seem to be changing don’t be tempted to doubt but keep on praising and trusting Him because He cares greatly for you. *Rebecca Prosser*
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