not even the strongest medicines will work for you. When this
didn’t help, I knew I had to make a decision. That decision
was the hardest one I’ve ever had to make: having my
colon removed.
On October 15th, 2013, I had my colon removed at the
Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. After three years of pain, blood loss,
zero quality of life, harsh medicines, and a hate for food, I
woke up symptom free. With no colon, my immune system no
longer had anything to attack. Even through the surgery pain,
I could no longer feel that sick feeling I had felt every single
day for the past three years since coming out of remission.
When I was able to eat my first full meal, I braced myself
for the usual cramping and pain, followed by a run to the
bathroom, but nothing happened. I felt nothing. There was no
pain. Nothing. I was so happy that I cried.
In the next 9 months, I will face two more surgeries. At the end of this, I will have a new
“colon” made from the extra small intestine that we all have, and will no longer need the
chemo medicines and steroids. It’s such a scary road, and
I’m dealing with things that no 24 year old girl wants to have
to deal with. But I am symptom free for the first time in three
years. I’m going out and living. I’m savoring every bite of food
I eat that isn’t giving me pain, every walk on the bay where
I don’t worry about a restroom. I feel like I’ve been given a
second chance at life, and I’m enjoying every single second
of it. My disease made me lose friends, but I’ve realized who
my true friends are. My disease ruined relationships, but I’m
now engaged to someone who never left my side through
these last three years. I finally have my light at the end of
the tunnel.
You never know when good health will be taken away from
you. I never did anything to ask for this; it just happened. But
it has given me so much appreciation for the smallest things
in life. Never take your health for granted. If you’re able, go
out and live.
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