Tuesday, 07 July 2009

• Motivated through Sickness

  I have Crohn's Disease. If you're not familiar with it, here is an excellent site to check out.

  Within one week after my 20th birthday, I was hospitalized (for the first time) with massive amounts of bleeding when I went to the bathroom. During my stay, I got to experience my very first colonoscopy--and had to go through the prep in front of several friends, my boyfriend (now fiancé), my boyfriend's mother, and my own mom!

  The hospital doctors prepared me for several different outcomes--IBD, Ulcerative Colitis, foreign bugs/viruses, and even colon or stomach cancer. As surprising as it sounds, none of them were seriously considering Crohn's as a culprit, because my particular form of the disease works in almost the exact opposite way of a normal form. For example, it is on my left side, not my right, and I suffer from extreme constipation rather than diarrhea. Yuck, right? Anyway, they found all sorts of bleeding ulcers in my colon, did some biopsies, sent my blood off to the one special lab in the U.S. that can diagnose Crohn's, and within a month's time, I was diagnosed. My results were in: the cells they found ravaging my colon were a 98% positive match for Crohn's Colitis.

  Because of the medications I've had to take, not to mention the disease, itself, I have to pay extra special attention to my health. Since it's likely that I went undiagnosed for several years, my growth has been stunted. My mom reached 5'10 by the 7th grade, my dad 6', and all of my siblings are just about as tall...so they had expected me to do the same. Nope, the tallest I reached was 5'3. Of course, that was before the steroids they put me on to control inflammation. Thanks to osteoporosis from the 'roids, I'm now a proud 5'2. My healthy weight of 115 slipped to 95 in the hospital (I wasn't allowed to eat for three days or drink for two), and is now resting at a fairly steady, albeit low, 102-104.

  

  (At around 100 pounds, yuck!)

  These past two years have been full of uphill battles, but finally, finally, it feels like things are changing. I've had to reorganize every single compartment of my life, but I am getting healthier! I, a former fast-food addict, have had to say goodbye to my chicken strips, Dr. Peppers, and french fries. Before my diagnosis, I had never exercised a day in my life--not anymore! I make it a point to get at least 30 minutes of hard activity in per day. All of my meals are now specially selected (no seeds allowed--this also includes nuts, corn, and anything else similar) and cooked, and I am careful to down several glasses of water per day. Besides my dietary concerns, though, I also have had to make several life sacrifices--stress makes me have a flare, so I make a point to avoid events that I know will stress me out (some family gatherings...).

  Due to my constant management of my health, I've started to look healthier, feel better, and oh, did I mention? I have not had a flare in quite some time! My skin has gotten clearer than it ever has, and I have more energy than I had when I was a little girl.

  I think that every single person on this planet can benefit from what I've learned, and I only wish that I had learned how to be healthier sooner! I, and many of my doctors, believe that diseases like Crohn's is caused by more than just an overactive immune system. We believe that at least part of the problem is caused by environmental factors, such as what we're eating or whether or not we're getting the right type of exercise. Because of this, I have become somewhat of an advocate to friends and family for the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.

  Crohn's Disease changed my life, but some days, I honestly think it's been for the better. 

  

  (Ed Note: We left the post as is and thanks for sharing this great story with us)

  
  

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