Crohn's disease can make you feel pretty bad. I also have "the worst kind" (fistulizing crohn's disease with 'advanced disease processes' that overcame most attempts at treating it) which left me with some serious terrible experiences, but it's not that bad. It's more annoying than anything else. I spent the last couple years in and out of hospitals for some time and had open wounds in my abdomen and chronic abdominal abscesses/infection and perforated bowels for about 9 months last year.

THAT SAID, I had surgery at the cleveland clinic and they basically fixed my major problems by removing the damaged portion of intestine and blah blah blah, lots of time later I'm ok again.

now I have this serious/extreme form of crohn's - but for me, I only have serious symptoms once every few years (like, twice in 5 years) - but when I do get those symptoms, it's potentially extreme ones (like fistulas and abscesses or perforated bowels), instead of just diarrhea or whatever people normally associate with crohn's.

It gives you a different perspective, and it's strange for me because I seem pretty healthy and people tell me "i look great" (and I do, I look like a normal and even attractive healthy young person), but I have this disease that can take me out of my normal life whenever, so I just try to make the best of it when I can. I'm a normal person with a normal life and I'm "healthy" even though I have crohn's lurking in the background waiting to change that if I don't take 6MP, as I take the same thing he does and it has helped me a lot after surgery. That's all you can really do for your nephew, help him make the best of it when and how he can, while he can. Most crohn's symptoms/complications can be treated, they would only be fatal like I said with lack of treatment.

It is nice to know it when people care about you, it's helpful knowing that people close to you care about you - but I can't really have good conversations about my illness because I don't want to be negative or bring people down, an there is nothing for me to say. I have pain and a serious chronic illness, there's nothing anyone can do about it except prescribe me pain medicine or leave me alone to rest when I feel bad, or help me or be a friend to me when I'm feeling good. It will be good if you can be a friend to him.