A chronically ill parent always worries...

 Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything and I apologize for that. We have finally settled back into the school & fall activities routine, the days start early and seem to go late! We are starting to look at colleges for our oldest which is a real eye opener. It seems like just yesterday Alex was starting kindergarten! Even though he's looking forward to leaving home and starting college, I know I will never stop worrying about him!

Yesterday, I got the pleasure to watch my newest niece for the morning while her parent's were working (really it was cuddling her while she slept on me!). While holding her, my mind started wandering back to the days when we were just thinking of starting a family and all the "what if" questions we had.

• *What is something was wrong with them?
• *What if one of the pre-natal tests come back showing something wrong?
• *What if one of our children has Crohn's Disease?
• *What if we aren't good parents?

There are so many more questions that I could list but you get my point. My biggest fear has always been that one of my boys would be diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. When you suffer from a disease, the last thing you want is to have a loved one go through what you have experienced first hand. Studies have shown that 5 to 20% of those with Irritable Bowel Disease have an immediate family member with IBD. Children of parents with IBD have a greater risk of developing IBD and the risk is greater with Crohn's Disease than Ulcerative Colitis. Neither my parents nor siblings have IBD so I am not sure where mine came from. I do have immediate and extended family with Celiac Disease (gluten allergy), which is another auto-immune disorder so I believe there is a connection from that aspect.

Do I want my kids to have IBD? Of course NOT! Would I be surprised if they were eventually diagnosed with IBD? Absolutely not! I do worry more than the average parent and will watch over them a bit more when they complain of stomach issues (outside of any stomach bug that is going around) and will get them to a GI if I feel it's needed. But I can't live my life worrying everyday that something might happen someday, that would not help me or my IBD.

No matter what chronic illness you have as a parent, there is always the worry that you will pass it on to your children. Mike and I didn't let my Crohn's stop us from having children. Luckily, my pregnancies were easy and my Crohn's was in remission during all 3 pregnancies. I will always have a little fear of the unknown (who doesn't?) but for now I am going to cuddle Baby Z and teach her to Live, Love and Laugh through Life!

Me & Baby G!