Planning For a Flare up

The answer to that question may seem like an obvious no, but my husband and I are learning there must be at least a few things we should try and do in case he has a serious flareup. When he was hospitalized last year, we were lucky to have his sister here at just the right time who also happened to be able to stay the extra days we needed her to be here. Not everyone can be so flexible. When she went home I was doing everything- including driving Jason to doc appointments, sometimes a few in a day- with my 3 young kids. I cracked a joke that I was his taxi, but really, that's just how we had to do it. When he started having symptoms on our holiday, I don't think I realized how much of the trauma from last year still existed. This past week, he's had a few days that he's been really sick, and even he isn't sure if it's one thing or his Crohns. I was suddenly panicking in my head over the pressure of going through that with him again, and wondering if I would be able to do it. I'm not sure what worries me more, the fact that it seems more and more his body is relying on meds to keep a balance of everything, or the potential for him to have 2 big flare ups in less than a year. In the last few years since he started methotrexate, I've seen a change in how his body responds to it, and I don't want him to get to the point where we're looking at other options, because that means more meds. All things considered, anyone with this type of disease knows you cannot plan for what will happen, but you have to know your symptoms and be on top of getting help before things get out of control. In a follow up visit with my doc for some of my own personal tests, we spent a lot of time talking about how Jason and I need to have a plan in place in case he does get really sick again- that means, having back ups, and people who can help right away at a moments notice. I give a lot of credit to those with this condition who do it on their own- it can't be easy. In fact, I know there's no way anyone could get through a serious flare up without some kind of help or support. I'm thankful that I can do that for him. But it does put in perspective how much it affects our family as a whole when the doc is telling us to have a plan. And thinking back on last year, when we didn't. My goal is to find some support locally, either through a counsellor for people with chronic conditions, or to start a group. There has to be a connecting point for people with chronic sickness, either for emotional support, or physical, hands on support whatever that may be for them. I found it frustrating last year trying to get connected somehow and not finding very many options at all for people with Crohn's disease. I'm not really sure yet what that will look like. How do you handle flare ups? Do you have support in place to help counter the shock and severity of a flare up? If you could have a support group to connect with, what would that look like for you? Being honest: I'm really hating Crohn's disease this week. I hope you're feeling well wherever you are.