Crohn's Disease

Listen, I'm not here to chastise or insult anyone's intelligence, nor give a dissertation on this disease. You can all find your own information and get what you need out of it. I am, however, going to tell you what I deal with having the disease and how that may or may not effect your thoughts on (our hopeful draft pick) Rolando McClain.

Odds are, he has a MUCH better diet than I do, which is one of the major contributing factors of how often he may have "attacks" or "flare ups". That shouldn't be an issue. Stress, unfortunately, is another major issue, but seeing as though he's performed at such a high level for so many years, I don't see that as in issue either.

What no one knows, at this point, is how bad or how far along his disease is. David Garrard has already had a good chunk of his intestine already cut out, which is more towards the worse case end. At that point it's that much more prone to not only coming back, but coming back stronger. I fortunately, am not at that point and am taking Humira (bi-monthly self injections, similar to insulin shots for diabetics) and, knock on wood, doing well considering. Hopefully Ro is not that far along where they need to start whittling away at his intestine.

Now here is where I may call a few people out. What to expect from him, if we were to draft him, in relation to this disease. I can't help but think of people's reactions (mine included at the time), to Terrell Davis's migraines. Oh, they're just headaches, deal with it. Anyone that's had them knows it's no joke. Similarly, when flare ups or attacks happen with Crohn's, it's no joke either.

Ro isn't going to "shit all over himself" as someone suggested. He may wish he could with the amount of pain he's having in his stomach. No, heaven forbid, he was in the middle of a play and an attack happened, odds are, he'd clutch his stomach in pain and sooner than later drop to his knees and feel what the average person could describe as "the worst tummy ache you can imagine". You're helpless and there's nothing you can do until it decides to pass. That may be a few minutes or many hours. You try to stay hydrated, but anything you take down usually comes right back up, thus leading to dehydration and a potential ER visit.

Having said this, it shouldn't scare anyone away due to how well he's supposedly been for such a long period of time. Again, compared to me, he's got the best dieticians/nutritionalists, doctors, etc, so he'll be well taken care of. So, in summation (yeah, I know I ramble) this incurable disease can be dealt with, to a point, but attacks/flare ups can happen at any time and aren't a joke.

It was described to me, when I was first diagnosed, like a clogged artery leading to a heart attack, but with your digestive system and intestines. It's blocking the normal flow of waste and when it can't pass, not only is it potentially toxic to your system, it can cause excruciating pain. Didn't really end on a positive note, sorry, but just wanted to give an up close and personal account of what's going on here. Again, his career should be pretty close to normal without much cause for concern. There, that's a better ending.