Monday, February 3, 2014

Homeschooling in a time of Colitis

It has been a long time since my last entry. Sometimes life is interrupted by unforeseen circumstances - in this case, ulcerative colitis.

We have lived with ulcerative colitis for a long time. My son was diagnosed with it at three years old, for seven years he has had times of remission and times when the disease was active again. When times are good, he has enjoyed long periods of feeling energetic and healthy. When the disease flares up, times are difficult.

He has been on daily medications since he was three years. He also takes probiotics, vitamins, and eats a careful, colitis-friendly diet. Despite our best efforts, there are still flare ups.

This fall has been a long, hard battle with ulcerative colitis. It first started up again in September. We have tried many things and searched out possible reasons for why things can't seem to calm down... but we are still fighting the good fight and my son is still in the midst of pain, stomach issues, and the uncertainty of what each day will be like. It is hard for anyone to suffer from an illness with chronic pain, but for children, it can be especially challenging. It has been awhile since I have posted an entry here. Life with colitis has taken up most of our time this school year. We are now trying an infusion treatment to see if it can bring him some relief. I hope to get back to posting more soon. I hope I will have more to say about parenting and homeschooling during times of illness. At this moment, I am still pretty tired and too much in the midst of the struggle to write much.