A Six Letter Diagnosis
Previous
article on Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis:
‘Next
Stop: Colonoscopies and Endoscopies’:
I
would say that ‘A Six Letter Diagnosis’ is one of hardest blog articles I have
written so far and may go on to be one of the hardest I will ever have to
write. For this reason I am going to try and keep my words brief. Before
beginning I would like to thank you all for the support I have received, and please
do not think the intention of this article is to insult doctors because many of
them do a fantastic job.
Back
in November 2007 I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy to find out why since the
age of nine I was suffering with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and
stunted growth. I was about to be given the news that I had Crohn’s Disease. However,
as I sat with my mum and dad in the waiting room I had no idea how this was
going to be put to me.
At
the age of thirteen I had very little experience of how doctors were supposed
to break the news. I was not present during my dad’s diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis
(MS) or when my mum was told she had Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME). I
occasionally had watched dramas about hospitals but they were fictional. So admittedly
I was scared. Saying that, I wanted some light to be shed on four years of dark
times where ‘Doctor One’ branded my suffering as both ‘imaginary’ and a product
of my mum’s anxiety.
‘Doctor
Two’, as I will call him, sat on the opposite side to the three of us. The only
words I remember from this meeting were the ones he used for my diagnosis. He
used these words:
"You
have something, with six letters, beginning with C…” Then a pause came. “It’s
not Cancer."
Unfortunately
the rest of our meeting is blurry in my mind. I cannot tell you how I or my
parents reacted to his words. I cannot tell you if he then went on to explain Crohn’s
Disease in more detail and then showed me photographs of my inflamed small
intestine. Sadly all I remember was coming out of the hospital thinking why I
had sat in silence. Maybe I did or maybe I did not. All I know, as I write this
article, is that I was a scared thirteen year old boy. After going through four
years of suffering I was scared.
I
have to say this. I cannot imagine for one moment what is like to have Cancer.
I cannot imagine the emotions or the journey that goes along with this dreadful
disease. All I can hope is for a future where all doctors break the news
sympathetically for every condition and patients get the support they deserve.
Each case is different so everyone should be treated with dignity.
On
reflection I have written ‘A Six Letter Diagnosis’ not to curse ‘Doctor Two’. That
was not my intention. I wrote this article with the intention to tell you my
story living with Crohn’s Disease through my own eyes. Every time I try to
imagine that day in November I picture a scared young boy about to go on a
journey. A journey where he will receive overwhelming support from a loving
family, brilliant friends and wonderful people willing to listen. For this I am
truly thankful.
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| I picture a scared young boy about to go on a journey...Copyright © 2015- Borrett family and Paul Kielty. All rights reserved. |
