- Joined
- Feb 16, 2011
- Messages
- 488
This is my Bio story, I use this for public speaking on Crohns and Remicade, I figured this would be easy to use.
YOU CAN STILL LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT, *JUST A LITTLE LEFT OF NORMAL*
Shannon Del Collo
As a child, I always considered myself to be a little on the chubby side. I enjoyed an active lifestyle, participated in sports and pretty much ate whatever I wanted. That’s why, when I was 11-years-old and began to drastically lose weight and my appetite; it was cause for great concern.
It all started when I began feeling sick after every meal. I would either vomit or have diarrhea and it just kept gradually getting worse. It got to the point where I avoided eating altogether so that I wouldn’t be in pain anymore. I lost about 15 to 20 lbs. and my parents decided it was time to make an appointment with my pediatrician. Initially, my pediatrician thought that I just had a minor food allergy and pretty much dismissed my symptoms as nothing serious. I even went to an allergist who tested me for hundreds of different food allergies and when my results came back negative for each and every test, my doctors were stumped.
Several months later, I was hospitalized due to my continual weight loss and painful symptoms. I underwent multiple rounds of testing and finally received a firm diagnosis. My doctors told me that I had a condition called Crohn’s disease and explained that it is a chronic disease of the digestive tract. Since I was just a child, I didn’t truly comprehend what this diagnosis meant. I don’t think I fully grasped the idea that I’d be living with this extremely painful condition for the rest of my life.
After receiving my diagnosis, my doctors prescribed several oral medications, including steroids, to try and get my condition under control. These have to be the worst drugs on the planet, every side effect that you can get from this medication I got. I swelled to two times the size of my own body, my face was unrecognizable, and I turned into a crazy person. However, these medications did a decent job of controlling my symptoms; but, I was only in middle school at the time and felt like my world had been turned completely upside down.
Several years later, my transition into high school was surprisingly easy. I finally felt healthy again and was even able to participate in sports. By the time my senior year arrived, I was hopeful that I could live the rest of my life without really being affected by my disease. Unfortunately, I experienced a setback that winter when my father passed away suddenly. The loss impacted me greatly both emotionally and physically.
Weeks after my father’s death, I was hospitalized with the most severe flare-up of Crohn’s disease that I had ever experienced. Upon being hospitalized, my doctors informed me that I had a fistula and explained that it’s a symptom of Crohn’s disease in which a kind of abscess or abnormal passageway develops in the intestines. After learning about my fistula, I remained in the hospital for over a month while doctors treated me with I.V. medicines and basically tried to re-nourish my body. Talk about being a 17 year old with pre-med students probably not more than 5 years older than me coming in asking permission to see the “girl with the large anal fistula” YEAH!!!! Talk about embarrassing moments you will never forget.
After being released from the hospital, I was able to keep my Crohn’s disease under control with the help of oral medications for about a year. When I was 19-years-old, I was hospitalized again and I received some life-changing news from my doctors. Upon undergoing a colonoscopy, my doctors told me that I had a significant amount of blockage built up in my intestines and that surgery was my best option. I underwent a six-hour bowel resection surgery to remove half of my small intestines in addition to my entire colon and part of my rectum.
My life was put on-hold for four months while I recovered from my surgery. While it was a tough time for me, I had the loving support of my family and boyfriend. After I had completely healed from the surgery, I felt great – almost as if I didn’t even have Crohn’s disease anymore. In 2001, my boyfriend and I got engaged and were married the following year. Within the first year of our marriage, I became pregnant with my first child and was incredibly nervous because I didn’t know how the pregnancy would impact my disease. Surprisingly, I was symptom-free throughout my first pregnancy and each of my following three pregnancies as well – I couldn’t have been happier!
Unfortunately, in July 2007, after the birth of my fourth child, my Crohn’s disease symptoms returned. Over the course of the next several months my disease continued to progress and by November 2008, despite numerous attempts to control my condition, I was in excruciating pain. One day, I woke to find that my fistula had resurfaced and had swelled to the size of a golf ball. It was at this time that my doctor and I had to seriously re-evaluate my treatment options. My doctor expressed interest in having me begin treatment with a new class of drugs called biologics and explained that I would receive the drug through an I.V. every six-to-eight weeks. I was basically told that I could either begin this new treatment or undergo another operation with no guarantee that it would be my last. I made the decision to move forward with biologics and within a week of my first infusion, I could already feel the difference.
Now, at the age of 30, I can say that I’m living a happy and healthy life again. After struggling for over 17 years, my Crohn’s disease is finally under control, if you can call it control. My husband and children continue to tell me that they are so happy to have the “fun” me back again. I’m now able to go places confidently, without anxiety about having to run to the bathroom. I feel like I finally have my life back and, I have to admit, it’s a wonderful feeling! Although I’m feeling good, I know that my Crohn’s will never be GONE but for right now it is being GOOD. I have learned finally at 30 that I am going to LIVE MY LIFE WITH CROHNS and not let CROHNS DICTATE MY LIFE!
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Colossians 3:12
***I definitely have Bowels.....of Longsuffering***:blush:
YOU CAN STILL LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT, *JUST A LITTLE LEFT OF NORMAL*
Shannon Del Collo
As a child, I always considered myself to be a little on the chubby side. I enjoyed an active lifestyle, participated in sports and pretty much ate whatever I wanted. That’s why, when I was 11-years-old and began to drastically lose weight and my appetite; it was cause for great concern.
It all started when I began feeling sick after every meal. I would either vomit or have diarrhea and it just kept gradually getting worse. It got to the point where I avoided eating altogether so that I wouldn’t be in pain anymore. I lost about 15 to 20 lbs. and my parents decided it was time to make an appointment with my pediatrician. Initially, my pediatrician thought that I just had a minor food allergy and pretty much dismissed my symptoms as nothing serious. I even went to an allergist who tested me for hundreds of different food allergies and when my results came back negative for each and every test, my doctors were stumped.
Several months later, I was hospitalized due to my continual weight loss and painful symptoms. I underwent multiple rounds of testing and finally received a firm diagnosis. My doctors told me that I had a condition called Crohn’s disease and explained that it is a chronic disease of the digestive tract. Since I was just a child, I didn’t truly comprehend what this diagnosis meant. I don’t think I fully grasped the idea that I’d be living with this extremely painful condition for the rest of my life.
After receiving my diagnosis, my doctors prescribed several oral medications, including steroids, to try and get my condition under control. These have to be the worst drugs on the planet, every side effect that you can get from this medication I got. I swelled to two times the size of my own body, my face was unrecognizable, and I turned into a crazy person. However, these medications did a decent job of controlling my symptoms; but, I was only in middle school at the time and felt like my world had been turned completely upside down.
Several years later, my transition into high school was surprisingly easy. I finally felt healthy again and was even able to participate in sports. By the time my senior year arrived, I was hopeful that I could live the rest of my life without really being affected by my disease. Unfortunately, I experienced a setback that winter when my father passed away suddenly. The loss impacted me greatly both emotionally and physically.
Weeks after my father’s death, I was hospitalized with the most severe flare-up of Crohn’s disease that I had ever experienced. Upon being hospitalized, my doctors informed me that I had a fistula and explained that it’s a symptom of Crohn’s disease in which a kind of abscess or abnormal passageway develops in the intestines. After learning about my fistula, I remained in the hospital for over a month while doctors treated me with I.V. medicines and basically tried to re-nourish my body. Talk about being a 17 year old with pre-med students probably not more than 5 years older than me coming in asking permission to see the “girl with the large anal fistula” YEAH!!!! Talk about embarrassing moments you will never forget.
After being released from the hospital, I was able to keep my Crohn’s disease under control with the help of oral medications for about a year. When I was 19-years-old, I was hospitalized again and I received some life-changing news from my doctors. Upon undergoing a colonoscopy, my doctors told me that I had a significant amount of blockage built up in my intestines and that surgery was my best option. I underwent a six-hour bowel resection surgery to remove half of my small intestines in addition to my entire colon and part of my rectum.
My life was put on-hold for four months while I recovered from my surgery. While it was a tough time for me, I had the loving support of my family and boyfriend. After I had completely healed from the surgery, I felt great – almost as if I didn’t even have Crohn’s disease anymore. In 2001, my boyfriend and I got engaged and were married the following year. Within the first year of our marriage, I became pregnant with my first child and was incredibly nervous because I didn’t know how the pregnancy would impact my disease. Surprisingly, I was symptom-free throughout my first pregnancy and each of my following three pregnancies as well – I couldn’t have been happier!
Unfortunately, in July 2007, after the birth of my fourth child, my Crohn’s disease symptoms returned. Over the course of the next several months my disease continued to progress and by November 2008, despite numerous attempts to control my condition, I was in excruciating pain. One day, I woke to find that my fistula had resurfaced and had swelled to the size of a golf ball. It was at this time that my doctor and I had to seriously re-evaluate my treatment options. My doctor expressed interest in having me begin treatment with a new class of drugs called biologics and explained that I would receive the drug through an I.V. every six-to-eight weeks. I was basically told that I could either begin this new treatment or undergo another operation with no guarantee that it would be my last. I made the decision to move forward with biologics and within a week of my first infusion, I could already feel the difference.
Now, at the age of 30, I can say that I’m living a happy and healthy life again. After struggling for over 17 years, my Crohn’s disease is finally under control, if you can call it control. My husband and children continue to tell me that they are so happy to have the “fun” me back again. I’m now able to go places confidently, without anxiety about having to run to the bathroom. I feel like I finally have my life back and, I have to admit, it’s a wonderful feeling! Although I’m feeling good, I know that my Crohn’s will never be GONE but for right now it is being GOOD. I have learned finally at 30 that I am going to LIVE MY LIFE WITH CROHNS and not let CROHNS DICTATE MY LIFE!
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Colossians 3:12
***I definitely have Bowels.....of Longsuffering***:blush:
