S-GUT

Behold! I have risen from the ashes, a glorious Phoenix, reborn. It sort of seemed appropriate considering the recent issues and the latest episode of 30 Rock, which in my opinion, has overtaken the Office as the funniest show on television.

The first thing I would like to address in today's post is the description of the blog located at the top of the page. It reads: "An open forum for those attempting to live and deal with Short-Gut Syndrome to share and swap ideas on what does and does not work." Simple, concise, and, yes, totally accurate. Anyone and everyone who has been affected by SGS in anyway has access to this web page and the ability to post comments. Hence, "open forum." The problem with making this page private is that it would do just that: make this page private. Anyone familiar with SGS knows that if there is anything we SGers lack it is intestines. If there is anything else that we lack, it is information, whether located in books, the interweb, or any other medium for collecting and reviewing information. There's nothing out there. Nothing. I said in my first post that there were only about 1200 Americans with SGS. 1200 out of 600,000,000. Many of these SGers have had the condition since infancy. By the time they are old enough to use the internet to get an idea for what does and doesn't work, they already have there own idea, or they have already reached the best it will ever get and nothing they do will change their life, or they don't make it that long. Hence, "share and swap ideas on what does and does not work." So making this page private would do SGers no good. I can't find them, they can't find me. Power in numbers. Short-Gutters Unite Today. (Hint: write it as an acronym)

Speaking of "share and swap ideas on what does and does not work," what do you think is the key word of that selection? "Ideas." Not "facts," or "cures," or "treatments." "Ideas." Most of what I know about my body has come from (unfortunate) trial and error. Let's see how rice works instead of pasta. What if I ate a carb-rich meal right before going to bed? Does it really matter if I drink a low-cal sugar free, electrolyte beverage, or is regular Gatorade tolerable? (By the way SGers, G2 is NOT that low in sugar, Powerade Zero is sugar free and tastes better than G2, BUT Vitamin Water 10 just came out. It is low in sugar with 3 grams per serving, and tastes fantastic.) So again, Short-Gutters Unite Today. We need to have ways to share some ideas, because, let's face it, I come up with more ideas than my doctors do.

And I am in agreement with my fellow SGer Renee: dealing with SGS is about so much more than just an undiscoverable diet. Nobody has ever heard of Short-Gut Syndrome, and don't fully understand it unless they are incredibly close to someone who has it. Even members of my close family and friends don't quite understand, and it's frustrating. So frustrating that even the smallest things can cause me to snap on a random day after that small thing has never bothered me before (i.e. a suitcase).

Back home, I dealt with pent up frustration, both before and after 11/2, by talking with my best friend for a couple hours every couple weeks or so. We called them "Man-to-Man's." Just the two of us talked as long as it took to get everything out. We never divulged any of what was said to anybody. There are two that I can recall clear as day. The first was after school on Monday, October 29, 2007. I remember the exact day because it was our last before my peritoneal muscle gave out. After school that day, the two of us claimed we were going to go run (yea right, a week after cross country ended, and we're going to run) and just got into his truck and sat in the parking lot. I think that one went for about two and a half hours. The other one I remember was Friday, May 2, 2008. I remember that date because it was the last time we had to come in to the school senior year, it was the morning of prom day, and it was the six-month anniversary of 11/2. This time we were in my car, it was pouring down rain, and it went about an hour.

This blog has become my new Man-to-Man. The friend I speak of goes to school back home. We talk on facebook from time to time and still hang out almost every time I come home, but he is inconsistent in replying to messages and sometimes disregards them all together. So, my frustration is released here. Frustration about being so incomprehensibly different from everyone else, about classwork and dorm life, about not having that Man-to-Man to use as a crutch to get through every couple weeks, and about not having a "replacement" friend here.

Yet another point in the plus column for transferring home. Perhaps the Man-to-Man will return to form. I hope it does. I am going home tomorrow after classes. Spring break could not come at a better time, honestly. I think everyone could use a break to allow everything that has transpired to blow over. Good riddance, winter quarter. I welcome Spring quarter with open arms and hope that a fresh start and a better class schedule won't be drowned by the inevitable April Showers.

Until next time, Short-Gutters Unite Today!

-The Intestineless Wonder