Ihaven't posted in a few years, life has sure been busy! Jared andI are married now and have been blessed with a baby boy. This story goesback in time to before J was diagnosed  with Crohn's disease.

Part1/?

Itwas May long weekend, and after a hectic work week I was excited for a tripwith J and our friends Megan and Matt. Matt was taking us to his uncle's cabin(on a lake) - a three hour drive from the city. We were an hour into thedrive when J asked Matt to make a pit stop at the next gas station. Isqueezed his hand and quietly asked him if he was okay. He had been having alot of stomach aches lately, and was scheduled to have tests done at thehospital the following month- I was worried that something was seriously wrong,but J was doing his best to 'tough it out' and rarely complained. (He hadself-diagnosed himself with IBS, and was convinced the problem was minor,although inconvenient.) J nodded and looked embarrassed, saying he just neededto use the washroom.

Westopped at a 7-Eleven, and J went to the washroom while Matt gassed up andMegan and I got everyone coffee. Ten minutes went by, then twenty... Mattstarted joking that J must have fallen in, and Megan looked impatient butdidn't say anything. I texted J: "R u OK?"

Anotherfive minutes went by, and I was just about to go back inside andknock on the bathroom door when J hopped into the car and apologized for thedelay, muttering something about a phone call from his boss. I thought J lookedpale, and put a hand on his arm- he turned to look at me and shook his headbefore I could say anything. "I just want to get to the cabin," hesaid.

We arrivedat the lake around noon, and Megan and I took the coolers inside and startedmaking lunch, while J and M unloaded the car.

Everyone seemed excited to be there- laughing and joking andhaving a good time. J was a bit quiet and didn’t eat much lunch, but he drank afew beers with Matt and seemed more relaxed. We spent the afternoon lounging onthe dock- it was still too cold to swim, but we took the kayaks out later inthe day and I finally had a chance to talk to J in private.

“What’s wrong babe? You’ve been quiet all day…”

“I just want to have a good time this weekend, K,” J said,ruffling my hair from his seat behind me.

“So do I, but you seem a little off… Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine, just a bit tired. Stop worrying.”

“When we stopped at the 7-Eleven-”

“Stomach cramps.”

“Again? Did you take your pills?”

J sighed, “Can we talk about this later?”

 I let it go, and wehad an amazing day together, catching up with our friends and just enjoying thetime away. If I had known what was coming next, I would have appreciated thingseven more.

That night J was restless and couldn’t sleep, I dozed offbut kept waking up when he got out of bed to use the bathroom- EVERY HALF HOUR.At 3 am I was getting a little cranky.

“Go to sleep……..” I moaned, as J sat up in bed, the movementwaking me up.

“Do you have Tylenol in your purse?”

Now I was awake- “No, why, what’s wrong?” I asked, sittingup. J looked awful- pale and sweaty, his mouth set in a line of pain.

“My stomach… the cramps are getting worse. It’s never beenthis bad before…”

“Why?” I was still half asleep, and had rolled over to put ahand on his tummy. Sometimes it helps if I rub or apply pressure when J has astomachache. His abdomen felt different- he’s normally muscular, but his bellyfelt unnaturally hard, muscles spasming under my fingertips. It didn’t feellike just gas- he was right, something was wrong. I pressed down lightly aroundhis navel, and J squirmed.

“When I went to the toilet at the gas station…” he paused,his forehead wrinkling as a painful cramp tore through him.

“You said you had cramps.”

“There was blood. A lot of it.”

J wouldn’t go to the hospital- he straight up refused. Hetook a fistful of expired Midol offered by Megan, and decided to just take iteasy for the rest of the trip. M and M went fishing and J and I stayed at thecabin. I got J to drink some Gatorade, and we watched some bad TV. His bellywas softer now, and he said the cramps were a bit better, but still there.

I gave J a long belly rub- his tummy was so bloated hissweatpants were uncomfortable, so he took them off. I could feel gas bubbles inhis intestines, and gently massaged in the direction of his colon to help movethem along. J started farting then- he was so embarrassed, but I was justrelieved because usually he would feel better after. A few months earlier he hadadmitted that he held in his gas when he was with me, and it gave him stomachcramps.

“Relax Jared- let it out,” I applied a bit of pressure withthe heel of my hand, and J’s body tensed, his guts churning and rumbling.

We spooned for a while, J pulling me closer to his stomachand rocking back and forth. Eventually he fell asleep and I disentangled mybody from his to do a bit of research on my laptop.