"A Problem Page For All!"

Hey girls,

Sorry I've been away for so long again.
I haven't been home a lot over the past few weeks, but I'll get to that later.
I did manage to at least read all the posts, but I didn't really get around to replying to them.

The reason I haven't been home the past few weeks is that my dad is in the hospital.. I was doubting whether I should tell you guys here, because I'm afraid it might be really painful for you Ellie.
I'm really really sorry, I don't mean to hurt you at all, but I also figured that it is something that plays a big part in my life now, and I really wanted to share..
He was admitted over 2 weeks ago. The night before he was admitted he didn't feel to good, so he went to bed early. Later that night he got a lot of pain and cramps in his stomach, and started throwing up etc etc.
The next day he couldn't walk from the pain anymore, and he went to see a doctor, that imediatly sent him to the hospital to take x-rays. They found out he had an ileus, which is an obstruction of your small intestine. Tuesday nearly 2 weeks ago the operated on him, to see what was causing it. That was a bit scary, because those obstructions are very often caused by tumors.
Turns out he has Crohn's disease. I don't know if any of you have heard of it, but here's something I copied from a site:
Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines. It primarily causes ulcerations in the small and large intestines, but can affect the digestive system anywhere between the mouth and the anus. It is named after the physician who described the disease in a landmark paper written in 1932. It is also called Morbus Crohn's, Granulomatous enteritis, Regional enteritis, or Terminal ileitis. Once the disease begins, it tends to be a chronic, recurrent condition with periods of remission and disease exacerbation.
Currently, Crohn's disease is believed to be related to abnormalities in the response of the body's immune system to the bowel contents. The body's immune system is composed of cells and proteins that normally protect the body from infections or other foreign invaders. In normal individuals, no immune response will be directed against food, bacteria, and other substances in the intestines. In patients with Crohn's disease, the immune system seems to react actively to a variety of substances and/or bacteria in the intestines, causing inflammation, bowel injury, and ulcerations. This abnormally active immune system is believed to be genetically inherited. First degree relatives of patients with Crohn's disease (brothers, sisters, sons and daughters) are more likely to develop the disease. Furthermore, certain chromosome markers have been found in patients with Crohn's disease.

He's now on medication, that he probably has to be on for the rest of his life, but at least he's much better now, and he might be coming home from the hospital today!

He esp got very sick after the operation, there were tubes going in and out every hole in his body, and even though I see these things at work a lot, it's something else when it's your dad laying in that bed!

Anyway, so that's what I've been up to the past few weeks, travelling between Almere and Amsterdam to be with my dad as much as I could after and between work.
I have to say it has been exhausting, esp when I was working nightshifts last week.
I got really behind on my study work, so this weekend i'm going to try to catch up with as much as i can.

I had to hand in something the monday after he was admitted, but I just didn't have the time to finish it, so I went to school the next day, and explained why it wasn't done yet. She said she understood, and that I should take my time and work on it when things would be better again, but I told her I was planning to work on it that day, because I'm running out of time. She said that that was true, but that I should take my time anyway, some things are just more important than school. I agreed with her, but studied all day anyway.
I saw her again the next day, and the only thing she asked was how I was doing on that stupid thing I had to hand in, if it was nearly done yet!! That really pissed me off!! If she doesn't care about my personal things, and just wants me to hand in these things in time, then don't say I can take my time! I really hate that woman, she makes everything so impossible for me!!
I really hope I will manage to get everything done in time, and get my diploma in February..

Here I am, I haven't been posting for weeks, and now all I do is talk about myself!
Let me get started on replying!!
(sorry Cait, I know you're were trying to catch up, hope I'm not going to make it impossible for you :P)

Love you girls!


I want to be the one to dance in the sun