Tennessee Titans Morning Links: My Eyelids Are Shocked, Indeed Edition

Ive had crohns disease since i was 10 (im 20 now), and aside from when i was initially diagnosed (the first year was pretty hellish) ive only had 1 time in the last 10 years where i was physically unable to live a normal lifestyle. basically what happened was the same area was continually getting flare ups, and scare tissue built and they had to surgically remove 10cm (about 4 inches) of my intestine. that details irrelevant to mcclain, but the point im trying to make is that the severity of the disease varies by person. its not something like MS where it starts off slowly but gradually deteriorates. if kept under control it will literally not affect you at all whatsoever. having said that, flare ups can come at any time, and unexpectedly, but rarely do. although primarily controlled through medication, diet, exercise, and keeping in good health all do in fact help keep the disease under control. there have been several pro athletes with the disease who have had long and productive careers. david garrard comes to mind in terms of nfl players, and as im sure some of you know (gramsey ill leave it to you to single out certain individuals) several NHL players (past & present) have it as well, namely fernando pisani, theo fleury, kevin dineen, and i believe saku koivu (sorry guys, im canadian, hockeys in my blood). its also been speculated that this is what has been keeping brock lesnar out of the ring, but thats just one theory of many. anyways, sorry for the long winded reply, just figured id put my 2 cents in on the matter seeing as i do have a fair bit of knowledge on the subject. long story short: yes, it can be a serious and hard disease to deal with, that is the exception and not the rule. most people who suffer from crohns lead perfectly normal lives, and that addage goes tenfold for athletes who keep their bodies in peak physical condition.

but for the record i still say we go haden.