CREATIVIBD
by Kristyn T. CUREFORCOLITIS.WORDPRESS.COM
A brave woman shares her journey and how her artistic talents and various array of treatments have
helped steer her in a new direction.
I agreed to write about my journey with ulcerative colitis
over one month ago. I wondered over the last few weeks
what was making it so difficult for me to sit down and write
this. I hashed it up to wedding planning and studying for my
licensing exams. However, as I sit down now, I am surprised
by the waterfall of tears streaming down my face; I guess
it was more than wedding planning and studying that was
keeping me from reliving my many years of illness.
I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis over 15 years ago at
the age of 19, and a day has yet to pass when I can have
a bowel movement without inspecting it for possible traces
of blood or mucus. I have had more flare-ups than I can
keep count of. Some flares lasted for around a year or so,
one lingered for about 3 years. If you suffer from IBD, I’m
sure none of this is shocking to you and only too familiar. I
guess I passed the realm of “normal” when I had my first
colonoscopy before the age of 50, and instead at the age of
19. I was just beginning my sophomore year of college as a
painting major when I experienced my first symptoms of ulcerative colitis. I remember
being out in the woods where I had carried all my paints. While painting, I was seized
up with a cramping sensation. Since my perfect landscape location was far from a
bathroom, I did what any sensible young lady would do and popped a squat. As I bent
over to cover up the evidence, I noticed small streams of blood in the pile.
The blood and cramping continued over the next few weeks until I finally went to the
school health center and was relieved to be diagnosed with hemorrhoids. The doctor, in
a very thick Chinese accent explained what a hemorrhoid was. I don’t think I told anyone
about just how bad it was.
I began to feel hopeless and helpless and cried a lot. I eventually developed pancreatitis
on top of my ulcerative colitis. I couldn’t even eat a saltine cracker without buckling
over in stabbing pain. I eventually admitted myself to the emergency room. Prognosis:
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