“I told myself, ‘You are BUILT for this.’ My body was going to heal. I’d been through so much I’d be d*mned if THIS is what took me out.”
‘I’ve never seen ANYTHING like it.’ It was akin to a freak accident.’: Crohn’s survivor undergoes serious illness, ‘I will always fight to be here’
‘What have I done to deserve this?’ I’d wake up hoping the drugs and alcohol had killed me in my sleep. The pain was unbearable’: Man with Crohn’s disease celebrates 8 months sober
“At age 20, I had two feet of my small bowel removed. I’d be straining my stomach acid out. I didn’t tell anyone about how much it was affected my mental health. I started drinking in the daytime. I wanted to end my life.”
‘Your condition is dangerous.’ Blood came pouring out. I couldn’t live another day like this.’: Woman reveals ‘highs and lows’ of Crohn’s Disease, ‘I’m ready to take on what’s next’
“I ran to the bathroom thirty times a day, losing blood each time. I broke down and sobbed. I felt defeated by this disease. I was only a shadow of myself.”
‘No cure? Like forever?’ I’ve been shot in a drive-by shooting, and I’d still take that pain over Crohn’s. I was so angry.’: Young woman learns to live with invisible illness, ‘It’s not the end of the world if you have to pull over, or ruin a pair of pants’
“Suddenly I could not keep any food inside of me, from either end. I was losing weight fast. The weather was nice so my boyfriend and I went to a restaurant on the waterfront for dinner. Afterwards, he took the long, scenic way home. I was in intense pain and needed to get to a bathroom. We finally arrive and he insisted on walking me to the door, not realizing I was ready to sprint. The minute I shut the door behind me, I projectile vomited all over the entryway. I became a homebody. I was accused of things like, ‘You just want pity. You’re lazy.’”
‘What now?,’ is all that ran through my mind. ‘How did this happen to me?’ All the voices in the room disappeared. I was washed on a metal table with hoses that hung from the ceiling.’
“He instilled in my mind there was better out there. Someone who he didn’t have to help when I wasn’t feeling well, someone who he didn’t have to go to the ER with, someone who was ‘normal,’ who’s body was not scarred up. I said to my dad, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I can’t take this anymore.'”
‘At 12 years old, symptoms began to manifest. I had joint pain in my knees and mouth sores on my gums. Food gave me belly aches. Aside from winter colds, I never was sick.’
“My parents were concerned. I had lost weight and they could see changes in me. I was 13 now, in the hospital to stabilize my 80-pound body. My parents were frustrated I followed ‘the rules.’ ‘If I thought the day of my diagnosis was life-shattering, this day would change the whole trajectory of how I lived my life.”
‘My dad told us, ‘Make someone’s day better.’ I watched him take his last breath. ‘Just because he couldn’t receive my kidney, doesn’t mean somebody else shouldn’t.’ This is for you, dad.’
“I was nervous and excited the morning of the surgery. This was finally happening! We could feel my dad’s presence in the room. We each donated to a stranger, for him.”
‘It must be stress’. The doctors made me feel I was making things up. This was all in my head, and I’m just wasting their time.’
“It was hard to keep it hidden anymore. The hope that these symptoms would go away was fading fast. I never told any of my friends or my school teachers because I felt too embarrassed.”
‘She’s just a nervous child.’ The words still burn. I was 13, about to start high school. But I was different. My life was consumed with excruciating pain, diarrhea, and the toilet.’: Woman recounts her struggle with chronic illness
“I was standing in the kitchen alone. My phone rang. Assuming it was my husband, I answered. But it wasn’t my husband. All I could do was freeze. I was in shock. I hadn’t processed his words until I heard the ‘click.’ My body shook as I collapsed.”
‘It’s all in your head. You just need to be happier. Go take a walk, be a ‘normal’ 20-something.’ I had just woken up, still bleary-eyed from anesthesia. These were the words my doctor said to me.’
“I laid there and sobbed, how could it have come back normal? After hearing enough doctors downplay my symptoms, watching them roll their eyes as they told me it was ‘just gas,’ I stopped telling anyone how miserable I was.”
