Rangers’ Jake Diekman hopes colitis ordeal helps ease others’ fears

Rangers reliever Jake Diekman is still far from throwing a baseball since undergoing surgery to alleviate complications from ulcerative colitis. That’s still months away. He can’t even run, ride a bike or lift anything more than 5 pounds for another three weeks. But that’s not stopping Diekman from expecting to be back on the mound for the Rangers by the All-Star break.

Diekman is scheduled to have another surgery in April, and perhaps another in June. He has to wear a colostomy bag in the meantime and won’t be able to throw until he’s clear of the surgeries.

“I feel really really good,” Diekman said Tuesday from the Rangers’ clubhouse at their spring training complex. “Hopefully I’ll be 100 percent, like the best I’ve ever felt since I was freakin’ 10 years old.”

For now, just being with his teammates is enough, including best friend Sam Dyson, whose locker is right next to Diekman. Dyson visited Diekman after the surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. It meant the world to Diekman, of course, who playfully accused Dyson of coming for the free ice cream and Jell-O.

Attending spring training was important to him even if he can’t participate. It’s better than moping around his house in Nebraska, he said. Plus, he gets to go at it with Dyson.

Diekman can start weight training in several weeks but is limited until then. He lost 20 pounds when his condition took a turn for the worse before Christmas. He lost another 11 pounds after surgery, which put him at 196 pounds. “Now I weigh 197, so we’re slowly working our way back up,” he said.

He has documented his surgery and recovery on social media hoping his openness helps others suffering the same disease.

“I feel like for the most part it’s invisible to people. It’s not like a disease that you see on the outside of people,” he said. “Any form of [inflammatory bowel disease] or Crohn’s and colitis can ruin your life.”

Diekman, 30, was dismayed by the ravages the disease has had on some of his fellow patients at the Mayo Clinic having a similar surgery. “That’s really tough to see,” he said. “If others see me going through it maybe they’re not so scared if they’re on the fence about doing the surgery or if they have the surgery upcoming, hopefully it kind of helps them cope.

“It’s scary, don’t get me wrong. I was in the anesthesia room and I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to wake up with a bag on for I don’t know how long.’ That part is scary but you just have to trust the process and have a good attitude. That’s the biggest thing. I could sit at home and mope and be bored or I could come here and have a great time.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Rangers’ Jake Diekman hopes colitis ordeal helps ease others’ fears."