Jack's father: Crohn's Disease???????? Minimal spoiler alert

[BallroomDancer]

I realize that this is a very minor point for most, but for me, when I read that Jack's father died of Crohn's disease I nearly fell out of bed. One of those, "The author is speaking directly to me through this book" moments. I have Crohn's disease and just had a flare up--which is part of the reason why I finished Duma Key so quickly, as I spent the better part of four days in bed with it (both the disease and the book). The disease is bad, but I have never heard of anyone dying from it. I read that paragraph then handed the book to my husband, who was reading next to me. I said, "I wonder if King really knows someone who has died of Crohn's disease. Most people have never heard of it." He just laughed and said, "Maybe he just picked a random disease."

So now I am extra curious. Does King know someone with Crohn's? Does he research everything he mentions in the book, including diseases of minor characters? Does he know anything about Crohn's disease? Or did he, in fact, simply pick a random disease for Jack's father?

Sorry if this holds no interest for most of you. It fascinates me, from the standpoint of a reader, a writer, and a person with Crohn's.

[Moderator]

Yes, one of his BIL's has Crohn's so he is familiar with it.

[Charms7]

When I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in the 1970s, I was pretty much devastated. Probably because the first doctor who put a name to the medical condition causing me so much misery told me that most likely it would cause my death. After I stopped crying, I gathered myself together and went to another doctor. That was nearly forty years ago. Yes, there have been times when I didn't think I would make it, but I'm here now. If you need reassurance or a shoulder to cry on, let me know. I've survived that gauntlet. So far, anyway.

[Shoshanna]

I will tell you that I work in the medical field and have had Crohn's for 37 years. You "CAN NOT" die from it...you can die from complications due to having Crohn's. You will never read a death certificate that states death due to Crohn's....it may read death due to another problem due to Crohn's. That means you die from other problems and not the Crohn's...though you may not have had the other problem if you didn't have Crohn's or you may you have it any way.

[tmlupo]

Thanks for the info. about Stephen King's knowledge of Crohn's. I just finished reading Duma Key and LOVED it! I had the same exact question as "BallroomDancer" when I read the Crohn's reference. I agree completely with her and had the same experience with my husband when I read that part about Jack's father. I never log onto these types of forums, but I was so curious I just had to see if there was an answer here. I have had Crohn's for about 16 years.

Might want to let Mr. King know that he could probably fill a whole novel with the horrors of having Crohn's disease. Now that I think about it, having Crohn's can sometimes feel like you are living in a Stephen King novel! I wouldn't mind seeing more references in his future books. Might help get the word out about this relatively unknown disease.

Luckily I have been doing ok for some time now (knock on wood). Keep up the fantastic work Mr. King and good luck to all of you readers out there battling Crohn's!

[BallroomDancer]

Thanks for your responses! Glad I am not the only one who wondered about this. Yes, I agree, Crohn's can be devastating and I would love to see more authors who mention it (even if you can't die from it, you can certainly feel like wanting to die).

Interesting that he knows someone with it. I wonder how his BIL is doing. I suffered horribly for two years, it went away for 2 years, and now it is back. I guess it affects people differently.

Best of luck to all of you with it!