Hello! My name is Carolyn Walters and 27 years ago I heard the words ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease for the first time. I was very sick for a long time. I was in and out of the hospital, eventually having major surgery to remove my colon. Much has happened since then. Not once have I asked why me. I truly believe I was dealt this hand to help others. It is my hope that through this blog I will be able to do that.
In sickness and in health is part of the wedding vows. At the time of my wedding (June 1993), neither my husband nor I realized the implication and importance of that statement. It was just part of what we had to say. We had no idea that just four months later, I would be diagnosed with a life changing chronic autoimmune disease.
My husband is my biggest supporter on this journey. He’s always there for me, making sure I take my medicine and get my rest. I have been blessed to have found a husband who has taken care of me and spoiled me from Day 1. I was sick on our honeymoon. Of course, at the time, we thought it was something I ate or the wedding nerves had just caught up with me. It was not my nerves or anything I ate.
For the past year or so I have contemplated writing my story. I have always dreamed of writing a book. I had ideas for a fiction book. A severe case of writer’s block hit. I felt like my creative writing was blocked until I could get my Crohn’s story out. I was not sure how to do that. That is, I was not sure until I was stuck at home at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The idea to start a blog was born. I want to use my story and my battle with Crohn’s to help others suffering in silence and their families.
When you’re battling a chronic autoimmune disease, you can often feel like you’re all alone. Your health can change from day to day, even throughout the day. You may start your day full of energy. But, by the end of the day, you’re doubled over in pain and can’t get off the couch.
I’m ready to share my journey with you. We can journey together. My blog is titled, “Hidden in Plain Sight – Life with an Invisible Illness”. Life with Crohn’s and other invisible illnesses is a life hidden in plain sight. I look healthy. I look like there’s nothing wrong. But, hidden from is all the ugliness of Crohn’s – the pain, the bottles of pills, the shots, tests, procedures, hospitalizations, and surgery.
I want this blog to show what it’s like to live a “normal life” while living with a disease where your body is attacking itself. I want others to see that life with a chronic illness does not have to keep you from achieving your dreams.
I hope this blog can inspire you and give you the will to take each day head on with a positive attitude. Well, I’m ready to see where this goes . . .
Carolyn
Hidden in Plain Sight 