Crohn's Chronicles: A blog about Crohn's Disease

We're just past the half-way point of HAWMC! Wow, this month is flying by. So, today I'm sharing a few pins from my Crohnie Stuff  board on Pinterest . Let's just get right to it. First, we've got an old comic from xkcd: Source: xkcd.com via Maggie on Pinterest A while back, the man behind this wonderful comic had a family member that was diagnosed with cancer. He wrote a couple of really fantastic comics about it. This is one of them. I've pinned another one to the same board. I encourage you to check it out. I also encourage you to head over to xkcd and check it out. It will be worth your time, I guarantee it.

Okay, before we get down to it, I want you to know that I am not a poet, nor have I ever claimed to be a poet. Please don't expect too much. Here we go... Go about my day, all is well. *Grumble, grumble* Uh-oh... run like hell When I tell you I have Crohn's, please don't panic. Just listen to my tale. I may not appear sick, it's true. But my ailment's invisible, dude. There. I hope you enjoyed that, because you probably won't ever see me write a poem again. Have a great weekend, everyone!

This one may venture slightly away from Crohn's for a moment, but I promise I'll circle back to it. I just need to get this off my chest, be patient with me for a minute. I went to a panel earlier this week on dance and disability. The panel itself was incredibly diverse, with disabled dancers and choreographers, a research scientist, educators, and a dance critic, among others. Each person had a unique perspective on the subject, which made the discussion interesting and inspired a lot of thought. However, there was this moment about half-way through the night when one of the panelists whose experience was mainly in the dance world said that there's really no difference between a modern dance company like Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) and a physically integrated dance company like Axis Dance Company , both of whom just happen to be showing in Chicago this weekend. To give a brief overview, Merce Cunningham was a pioneer in modern/post-modern dance....

Below is small segment of my Dance Studies Research Project, "Cripping Dance: Radical Representations of the Disabled Dancing Body." It's the bit I wrote about my own work, Overwhelming Nuance (excerpted below), which, as you will see, was inspired by the feelings of denial that so often accompany disease.  Nearly four years after I was diagnosed with Crohn's, it flared massively. Lost in the idea that "my disease will not define my life", I ignored for months the signs of the looming crash. This breakdown forced me to come to terms with the reality of my disease. I suddenly understood that the idea that the mind might overcome the body just supported the willful denial of my disease. After this experience, determined to force an openness about disease in my own life, I claimed disability as part of my identity and choreographed my own "crip" coming out.