My name is Jason and I am 33 years old living in the Buffalo, NY area.
I married my wonder wife Kris in September of 1994. Sortly thereafter I had to move to Biloxi, MS for some schooling while she stayed in NY. When I returned in early 1995 we moved to our new assignment outside of Columbia, SC.
Memorial Day weekend that year I felt like a had the flu. Aches and pains with an intense fever. I had been very run down as of late and just chalked it up to pushing myself too hard. By the end of the weekend I was able to moitvate by my energy was gone. I still had a mild grade fever and pain in my mid-section that wouldn't subside. I felt it affected my appitite as I didn't ever feel like eating.
The summer of 1995 came and went and I had lost 44 pounds before saying enough was enough. In September 1995 I visited a military practician. HUGE mistake.
The medical motto of the military is "Hurry up and wait!". I went through nearly a year where the doctor who prescribe a medication to me. If it worked... good. If not, come see him in 8 weeks.
I was tested for everything from acid reflux to cancer. Nothing. I was still sick too. I finally got sick of the cycle and demanded to be referred to a specialist.
I was sent to Augusta, GA to a Dr. Henry Rosen, a fine jewish man from New York City. He had be prepping me for an endoscopy when my white cell counts came back extremely elevated and elected to work the full colonoscopy first. The man who did the procedure was Retired Marine Col. Peter McNally, who now works as the Director of Clinical Gastroenterology and Endoscopy at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and is a former medical spokesman for the American College of Gastroenterology.
I woke up in a hospital bed with tubes and wires and was told that my kidneys had begun to shut down to a lack of nutrition and severe dehydration. I felt as good as I could be. How would I have known my body digressed this badly? This was November 13, 1996. Just 3 days ago I was running a demo for my middle ages reenactment group and doing as well as I could be.
During that week long stay in the hospital I was told all about Crohn's. I listened intently while his case study staff asked questions and Dr. McNally talked in great detail about my case. It would change my life forever.
The bad news... I likely had this for the rest of my life. The good news... we fought like hell that week to keep my intestines intact.
It wouldn't be until mid-1998, once I was out of the military, that I was offically into remission for the first of three times. Medication would always be part of my daily routine. I went through a rough patch in late 2000 that would send my body in a downward spiral. My doctors here in NY trudged forward and got me over the hump. Getting me back into remission by Summer 2001 when my son was born.
Fever and pain returned in 2004 without warning and I wasn't able to shake it. Nights unending sweating through my pillow. My traditional means of pushing back into remission weren't working so they decided to bring out something that they waiting for years to give me. Remicade.
I began Remicade infusions in October 2004 with the most amazing results. In a single treatment it slammed my condition back into condition until July of this year when I fell off the wagon after buying our first house. I felt I would be fine by the condition had different plans.
After a strong round of testing I will be resuming the Remicade this month in hopes of going back into remission for a fouth time. I don't plan to fall off the wagon again.
Ten years later, still no surgeries, still have the intestines luckily and feel I still have alot to learn.
Thank you all for having me here.
I married my wonder wife Kris in September of 1994. Sortly thereafter I had to move to Biloxi, MS for some schooling while she stayed in NY. When I returned in early 1995 we moved to our new assignment outside of Columbia, SC.
Memorial Day weekend that year I felt like a had the flu. Aches and pains with an intense fever. I had been very run down as of late and just chalked it up to pushing myself too hard. By the end of the weekend I was able to moitvate by my energy was gone. I still had a mild grade fever and pain in my mid-section that wouldn't subside. I felt it affected my appitite as I didn't ever feel like eating.
The summer of 1995 came and went and I had lost 44 pounds before saying enough was enough. In September 1995 I visited a military practician. HUGE mistake.
The medical motto of the military is "Hurry up and wait!". I went through nearly a year where the doctor who prescribe a medication to me. If it worked... good. If not, come see him in 8 weeks.
I was tested for everything from acid reflux to cancer. Nothing. I was still sick too. I finally got sick of the cycle and demanded to be referred to a specialist.
I was sent to Augusta, GA to a Dr. Henry Rosen, a fine jewish man from New York City. He had be prepping me for an endoscopy when my white cell counts came back extremely elevated and elected to work the full colonoscopy first. The man who did the procedure was Retired Marine Col. Peter McNally, who now works as the Director of Clinical Gastroenterology and Endoscopy at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and is a former medical spokesman for the American College of Gastroenterology.
I woke up in a hospital bed with tubes and wires and was told that my kidneys had begun to shut down to a lack of nutrition and severe dehydration. I felt as good as I could be. How would I have known my body digressed this badly? This was November 13, 1996. Just 3 days ago I was running a demo for my middle ages reenactment group and doing as well as I could be.
During that week long stay in the hospital I was told all about Crohn's. I listened intently while his case study staff asked questions and Dr. McNally talked in great detail about my case. It would change my life forever.
The bad news... I likely had this for the rest of my life. The good news... we fought like hell that week to keep my intestines intact.
It wouldn't be until mid-1998, once I was out of the military, that I was offically into remission for the first of three times. Medication would always be part of my daily routine. I went through a rough patch in late 2000 that would send my body in a downward spiral. My doctors here in NY trudged forward and got me over the hump. Getting me back into remission by Summer 2001 when my son was born.
Fever and pain returned in 2004 without warning and I wasn't able to shake it. Nights unending sweating through my pillow. My traditional means of pushing back into remission weren't working so they decided to bring out something that they waiting for years to give me. Remicade.
I began Remicade infusions in October 2004 with the most amazing results. In a single treatment it slammed my condition back into condition until July of this year when I fell off the wagon after buying our first house. I felt I would be fine by the condition had different plans.
After a strong round of testing I will be resuming the Remicade this month in hopes of going back into remission for a fouth time. I don't plan to fall off the wagon again.
Ten years later, still no surgeries, still have the intestines luckily and feel I still have alot to learn.
Thank you all for having me here.
.
