Achieving Remission

Weeks passed, shots were injected and time passed. He started the very long process of weaning himself off of the steroids... and I held my breath. Waiting, hoping that things would improve. Honestly, I can't say that I felt a lot of optimism in those first weeks. The months of not knowing what was wrong and then knowing but not being successful in treatment had worn my heart. I was expecting and planning for what the next steps would be because I couldn't hope that this would work. I couldn't hope that we wouldn't need a next step. I was cynical at best. Researching what would or could come next didn't help.

The day he took his last dose of Prednisone was an emotional one for me. I was relieved that the steroids and their awful side effects were done. I also knew that the next weeks would tell the story of the real status of his UC. There was nothing masking symptoms anymore. I was a bit of an emotional wreck. 

About a week later, we were standing in the kitchen, in the wee hours of the morning before our day started and I asked what had become a very familiar question at our house. "How are you feeling today?" That day the answer was a new one. He thought he might be starting to feel better. He thought it might be working. I started to hope.

He continued to improve. Eventually, I stopped asking the question. Our lives had become normal again. Other than the injection every other week and the daily reminder in the form of a handful of pills, there were no signs of illness, no symptoms. 

It was such a hard decision to start Humira. We wrestled with all of the side effects and awful possibilities. I know that this stops a lot of people from moving forward with it. For him, it worked. We are living normal lives, free of Ulceritive Colitis symptoms. His doctor says he is in clinical remission.  I'm so grateful that we didn't let fear stop us from pursuing remission. It is possible. There is hope!