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Ambassador Story - Dylan Swan, Endorphins are a crohnies best friend

03 Aug 2018

After 50+ visits I had a VIP card to the local ER room and at some stages I would be back and forth every second day.

The longest I stayed in a single visit was between 2 – 3 weeks.

That was before my new pb of three months.

This was in the midst of me being an up and coming Personal Trainer. I was working for myself, living the dream, doing what I loved day in day out.

That also meant, if I didnt work, I didn’t get paid.

Stress is one of the most common and one of the few definite you will find across fellow crohnies, it is a trigger and will play havoc on you.

So you can imagine, even in for day visit, a week or any amount of time off work was going to be stressful, the more stressed I got about not being able to work, the sicker I got and longer i would be off work and to add to that I was at an old gym where they wouldnt let me out of paying rent even under the circumstances.

Great cycle right?!

Then amidst my worst flare in the 2 and a half years of having crohns, I ended up between ER, ICU, surgery, ICU, an isolated hazmat suit room, surgery again, ICU and a room on the ward for 3 months.

I will go into further detail into those events in a later blog, I dont think I am ready to share that harrowing near death experience just yet.

After the 3months from hell, I went from a 90kg, strong, fit and active trainer, to a 62kg, weak, skinny, could not sit up by myslf due to the tear in my abs (roughly the same size as a woman who had twins), frail and broken shell of a man.

Looks aren’t everything in this industry, but unfortunately they do come into play. How could my clients look at me for inspiration when I lost all I had worked for? When I couldn’t even demonstrate a body weight squat , or assist them properly with any of the weights?

I didnt relaize then like I do now, that it was never the looks that were the inspiring part, it was the strength, will power and determination that I applied to always give them my best.

The amount of times I tried to beg, plead or strongly suggest (sorry nurses) that they should let me out so I could work and train was higher than times I’ve been admitted for crohns related symptoms.

When I was finally released, i had a stomach vacuum attached to the gaping hole where my belly button used to be. It was a big circle suction, attached to a hose (that I needed to wrap up over and my neck to keep the line clear and strong) into a vacuum machine that I had to carry around with me everywhere.

I went straight to the gym, exactly what doctors, nurses, surgeons and everyone else under the sun told me not to do.

I went to the gym, with a weird beeping satchel, with tubes coming out of it and me, pale as a ghost and looking like a frail old man or cancer patient.

Everyone thought I was being so stupid for rushing back there.

But they didnt understand the true reason why.

Whenever I exercise, I feel free. I feel in control, the pain or feeling may still be there that I’m suffering with, but for those 45 – 60mins, it shifts.

I make my legs, chest, back, lungs or whatever I’m training the focus and I have control of the pain that I am in.

Control for someone that could go to bed fine and struggle to get out of it for the next week is such a novel idea, but it does exisit.

Not only does exercise give me some level of control, it gives back and creates freedom.

Those amazing things called endorphins are like nothing else on this planet.

The way your body reacts after exercise is like a superdrug. It may not last forever, but when you have them flowing through your body, you feel like your not only normal, but superhuman.

I think crohines are so used to feeling like shit, that when the chemical reaction during /after exercise occurs that’s it’s almost an extra sense of euphoria because our bodies aren’t used to feeling that good.

The hardest part is getting to actually workout, whether that’s weights, cardio, sports it’s all a challenge.

It’s like a Monday morning that you’ve had a shit eating, drinking bender of a weekend with broken or no sleep… on steroids daily for me just to get there.

So it’s very easy to miss or give up, but once you can get your body moving, it thanks you and shows that even under immense distress, the body is capable of amazing things, even a broken one.

This September I am raising funds and awareness for Crohns and Colitis Australia’s #livefearless campaign as an ambassador. Walk, jog or run 150km with me in my team or donate below.

If I can do it, anyone can ???

https://www.livefearlesschallenge.com.au/join/swannypt

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Jump over to my socials to follow my journey as I try to share my why with the world.

@Swanny_PT

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