Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Food and family, it’s everything I love! When I was 17 I had the flu and despite barely being able to hold my head up, I still tried to participate. I remember putting just a spoonful of mash potatoes on my plate and a tiny piece of turkey and looking down at my pathetic plate and realizing I should have stayed in bed. I wasn’t about to miss out on Thanksgiving. The year before that I was admitted to the hospital for a flare-up a few days before Thanksgiving. I basically begged the doctor to discharge me the day before Thanksgiving, even though I should have been in another day or two. He reluctantly agreed to my pleas.
There are things that are outside of our control, hello Crohn’s Disease and the flu. However, there are some things that we can control. Like avoiding foods that can be upsetting to our stomachs, enter my home made corn souffle. Growing up this was my favorite dish, my mom’s friend made it every year, and I was always the first one to grab a serving, and then go back for seconds and thirds.
This year I made it for the first time by myself, quite an accomplishment at 31. I decided to make it for the Thanksgiving pot luck at work. Normally I sign up to bring drinks and paper goods. Everyone was shocked that I made something and probably equally shocked that it was good. I had a little, knowing that it was a risk and I end up being okay.
It all went downhill later that day. I got cocky. I made an extra plate of leftovers to bring home for dinner. I don’t mind eating Thanksgiving food every day of the year, I will never get tired of turkey. Pack up all the leftovers. The night before Thanksgiving, I heated up my potluck leftovers and decided to relax and enjoy my food. Thanksgiving morning I woke up and wasn’t feeling great. I didn’t eat all day, and then the painful SHARP cramps started to hit me. I made it to our friend’s house and sat down and thought I can get through this. My plan was to eat very little and power through with a smile on my face. I enjoy everyone’s company, I didn’t want to miss out. FOMO is a side effect of most chronic illnesses. After about five minutes I decided it wasn’t worth it. I grabbed an Uber home, took a hot shower and a Percocet and tried to sleep it off.
I knew it was a partial obstruction and I knew it was my own fault. I planned to try and weather the storm. If I could get through the night and make it to the morning everything would be okay. If morning came and I was still in pain, I would go to the ER. I know the drill, they give me some pain meds, see how bad the obstruction is and usually send me on my way. Every ER trip is $300, and a pain in the butt, so I try to hold off unless I am absolutely miserable. Midnight I woke up and threw up a lot, which concerned me. Of my typical symptoms, vomiting isn’t one of them. I cleaned myself up, drank some fluids (you don’t want to get dehydrated), and waited a bit for my stomach to calm down so I could take another pain pill. I didn’t want to take something and then immediately throw up.
I started watching The First Wives Club on Hulu, a 90s gem. Honestly, streaming services are a lifesaver. Back in the day, I would just watch infomercials at 2 a.m. I knew a lot about the George Foreman Grill.
Morning came and the pain had subsided. I knew the obstruction had cleared and to take it easy. I pretty much avoided food most of the day and then had soup for dinner. I still had a long weekend to enjoy, I wasn’t going to ruin the rest of it. If I didn’t tell you about my horrible Thanksgiving, you wouldn’t know, unless you paid attention to the fact that I just had a little soup Friday night.
I’ve had Crohn’s Disease for 16 years, this isn’t new information. I know what foods I should avoid, I know better, and yet I still find myself being a complete moron. I ruined my favorite holiday because I couldn’t resist a serving of my favorite entree. It wasn’t worth it. I’m not saying the corn souffle was bad, it was really good, but it wasn’t worth the agony I endured all night. I really hope I learned my lesson, but I’ve been known to repeat my mistakes.
