It'll be alright again - I'm ok

In the song "Little Miss," Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles sings about how sometimes you have to lose to win, but in the end it'll be alright again, and she's ok. That song really explains the journey I'm about to go on. And I'm hoping that you will support me along this journey - both through encouragement and most importantly prayer.

Last summer, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. When I went into the hospital last July, I almost died, and I've been fighting to regain my health back ever since. I have my good days, and I have my bad. But I'm ready for more good than back. Crohn's dieasese is an auto-immune disease where basically your digestive system is out of wack. My doctor has tried various medicines to try to regulate my digestive system, but none of them seem to work unless accompanied by a heavy dose of prednisone - a steroid dependency is not a good thing. The next step my doctor wanted to try was a stronger drug called Remicaid that would be given by an infusion every two months. But that treatment option scared me. It has some pretty harsh side-effects that I just wasn't willing to face. And after a lot of discussion with my family and friends, and a lot of prayers, I decided to tell my doctor I'd rather look at other treatment options first and leave the heavy drugs as a last resort. And much to my surprise, and excitement, my doctor was ok with that. He understood my concerns and was willing to support me in whatever my decision was.

So, here is where I finally take ownership and control of my health, and move forward in faith that God is going to heal me. According to modern medicine, Crohn's disease is not curable but it's treatable. According to the Bible, nothing is impossible for God. I'm putting my faith in God.

Starting Monday (March 7), I am going on the Maker's Diet. It is a biblically based diet that is designed for you to eat like God intended. The book, by Jordan Rubin, talks about how much of the Standard American Diet is really not good for you - and when you have a digestive disease like Crohn's it's even worse. I was introduced to this diet by a couple people who have Crohn's but have been medicine free for years. I have been encouraged by all of them to at least give it a try.

The diet is in three phases with the first phase (2 weeks) being rather restrictive - it's almost like a detox. Then little by little you're able to add back in different foods to your diet to where you can eventually eat pretty normal with a diet rich in good meats (beef, chicken, fish that have scales) and lots of fruits and vegetables.

Now I'm not going on this diet to lose weight - I'm going on this diet to take ownership of my health and hopefully go off all the meds. In order to be alright again, I'm prepared to lose some of the things I love - mainly things like bread (which I love - just ask my family, we've had family fights over bread), Chic-fil-a and caffeine.

I've decided to start this blog as more of a journal of my journey. I don't know if anyone will even read it, but as a writer, writing my thoughts down helps with the accountability this journey requires. I'll try to be as honest as I can. I just ask that you pray for me thru this so that at the end I can say - I'm ok!