Back in 2009, Jon Reiner was feeling as healthy as he ever had. Jon has Crohn's disease--an autoimmune condition that affects his gastrointestinal system--but it had been in remission for a year. He was eating like a horse and felt terrific. But then one afternoon, a strange and ferocious pain struck him in the gut. It felt as if his insides had exploded. Because, well, they had. Jon was rushed into surgery and survived, but when his doctors met him afterward in recovery, they told him he there'd been a complication: in order for Jon's gut to heal fully, they'd have to shut it down and feed him intravenously. For a while. The doctors told Jon the nutrients he'd receive would give him everything he'd need to survive. But they were wrong.
This is a story about the deep power of the gut--not just to shape our minds, but to keep us from losing them. It's a story that suggests chewing and swallowing and digesting aren't just things we do to stay alive ... but things we do to stay, well, human.
Read more:
Jon Reiner, The Man Who Couldn't Eat
Comments [13]
Jon:
Thank you for sharing your amazing journey through NPR's RadioLab today... It was heartbreaking to know what you and your family went through, the individual suffering endured on many levels... I only wish someone could have shared a way for your to naturally and safely detoxify your body of the chronic inflammation this condition resulted.. To immediately discover a way for you to support balance your pH level, reducing chronic inflammation, please review the following link.
Blessings and in gratitude,
Jewell Cornette
http://www.jewell.mytouchstoneessentials.com/doctors-speak-out-dr-alex-lee-on-toxins-and-your-health/
For my 60th birthday my son gave me a book called Self Health revolution by Michael Zenn. It is about making smarter choices what you eat. I began taking a less passive role in my food choices and added probiotics to my diet along with more raw and less processed foods. I have to say also that I have suffered from depression for many, many years. About 2 weeks into this I ran out of anti-depressants, I also was short of cash so I put off getting the meds, I felt good so I did not rush to the pharmacy to get the script. Well. a week goes by and I still am feeling good. I just chalked it up to the healthier eating, who knew that what I eat would have a major impact on my mood! Then I heard you show on guts and what Professor Crayan and his mice are doing, I was stunned I thought the probiatics were helping the digestive tract. I do not know if this is a coinicedence or Professor Cryan is onto something
This was a great episode! Thanks Jon for sharing your story and thank you radiolab for bringing us some interesting research. The following quotes, made far before recent developments in our understanding of the gut, nonetheless seem appropriate for hinting at the way in which churnings of our guts, and the microbial critters that inhabit them may play a big role in shaping our experience and quality of life.
What we feel and think and are is to a great extent determined by the state of our ductless glands and viscera – Aldous Huxley
All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality – MLK Jr.
A fascinating and honest account of what was no doubt a horrible time. The tale is both sobering and uplifting. A lovely job by both Reiner and NPR, not to mention the no small contribution by his wife. I hope it helps sell a million books! Reiner and spouse deserve no less. And loved her comment about the underwear drawer. Yes, it's worth listening to just for that insightful comment!
For answers to all of these excellent questions about me, my health, my family, etc., I invite you to please read my memoir, The Man Who Couldn't Eat. It's all there. Thank you for the listen.
Fear not! Jon's wife came back. All is well in the Reiner home!
What happened with Jon and his wife? Did she move back home again, or did they separate for good? Don't leave us hanging!
Oh my oh my! I just finished living without any food or drink going in my mouth for four months... tube fed. Most therapists thought I would be tube fed for the rest of my life, but I managed to pass my swallow test and am again eating and drinking. had my tube removed last week and joked with a friend that my wife watches my digestion rather than t.v. now. this was before hearing the show this week. and then the last story... i laughed so hard and then cried equally hard all within the same two minutes. and what a help to hear so much of what i experienced being expressed. yesterday i confessed to my wife and grown children that after the two months in the hospital, when i got home to the computer i kept bookmarking restaurants I wanted to go to after having studied, i mean studied, i mean visualized and DIGESTED their menus. and other confessions. my goodness... we all know the feeling of coincidence, of literature speaking rather directly to us, and what a blessed feeling it is. but i do believe i have never felt it quite this forcefully. bless you all. bob minder
Fascinating story. The book is a must-read!
Thanks Don! Typo fixed. Glad to hear you enjoyed the piece.
This story made me get the munchies so bad. I tried to resist having a snack but finally when he was able to eat again I couldn't take and I broke open a Nutrigrain bar. There's another validation for the power of storytelling for ya.
That's a misspelling of Crohn's Disease in your story description about "Gutless." As to the story itself, I was on the road this afternoon driving from Atlanta to Chattanooga, and I was laughing aloud while listening to it. Just one of the better things you have done. Thanks.
The Man Who Couldn’t Eat was a fantastically, painful, yet delightful read. I felt like I was with Jon at every moan and groan.
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