A Writer's Life Interrupted #crohns #uc #ibd #stephendorn

Stephen Dorn is an artist, a photographer, a poet. And he is one of the administrators of Artists with Crohns or Ulcerative Colitis on Facebook. It's quite the exclusive club. You have to have either Crohns or Ulcerative Colitis to get in and this group is FILLED with suffering talented people.

I've loved Stephen's art for quite sometime. His photography is astounding right down to the tiniest detail. I would not be surprised to see his work in National Geographic someday. Always insightful, he makes you forget about your troubles as your mind delves into the scenery he creates with his magic camera.

People with inflammatory bowel disease (or bowel, stomach, esophagus, and mouth if you have Crohn's disease) spend a lot of time in hospitals. Not all stays are pleasant. Most of the time we are seen for pain but it can be abscesses, obstructions, or whatnot that gets us in the front door. Stephen was having one of those weeks and so I was astonished when I woke up to his note posted in our group below: 

What caught my eye was the handwritten note Stephen posted. Nobody hand writes anything anymore unless they want to convey something in the writing, or so I surmised. I cried a little, nodded a lot, and felt the empathy streaming from each stroke of his pen.

Having Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis is hard. There is a difference between the two, just think of them as parent and child. One is harder on the body (Crohn's)  but the other is just as painful (UC). I am so lucky, so fortunate, to be hooked up with such beautiful minds encased in bodies filled with such suffering.

I asked Stephen if I could feature his note on my Writer's Life Interrupted blog and he agreed. He is the first artist I have invited, but he will not be the last. Artists with Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis has introduced me to people with enormous talent and if they agree, I'd like to showcase some of their artwork here. 

And now, I give you Stephen's photography. So sit back, enjoy the scenery, and forget your troubles for awhile.