Shawn's Story
Patient StoryFor years after being diagnosed I continued to suffer and took steroids to suppress my immune system. This was the only treatment option I was aware of. I constantly worried about having an accident. Severe blood loss caused extreme fatigue at all times. There was no such thing as "rest;" every time I lay down, it was right back to the bathroom. Once again, my illness spiraled out of control.
In 2013, I developed a bad infection while on steroids, which led to my first surgery. After that incident I was determined to live better. I was so tired of being embarrassed and isolated. I didn't have a life; I had colitis. I spent the next year with my current GI doctor. We went through treatment after treatment - pills, injections, infusions, the works. All attempts failed. My final options were surgery or steroids. I chose surgery.
From December 2014-mid 2015, I lived with a temporary ileostomy while I underwent three surgeries to remove my colon and create an ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, or j-pouch. The surgeries were hard as was learning to adjust to life with an ostomy, but I stayed strong. I now live a life I never knew was possible - a life with very little colitis symptoms. Through my experiences, my biggest lesson learned is to never give up. There were so many nights when I sat in bed and cried, on someone's toilet crying, in the hospital crying. Wanting it all to be over, this life to be over. - But because I went through it and learned from it, I am a much stronger person.