At age 11, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a debilitating condition where the body attacks itself in the digestive track, causing scar tissue and great pain.
For 25 years, I suffered the trials and tribulations that come with this disease and never let it stop me from being everything I wanted to be. In and out of hospitals plus two major surgeries with my parents nearly losing me during one of them, my mind was set that I could beat this condition and live a normal life like everyone else.
At age 14, I was 64 pounds, a virtual skeleton. After being hospitalized for 5 weeks and pumped up with fluids and corticosteroids to reduce the inflammation, I emerged in 9th grade at 134 pounds. What a challenge that was! No clothes fit me and I missed the first 5 weeks of freshman year of high school.
After surgery #2, I chose to discontinue the conventional treatments of this disease and beat it for good. I thanked my parents, family and physicians for everything they had done to support me. Then I chose an alternative path to treatment and focused on my diet, exercise and sleep. In 6 months, I was off every drug treatment and haven’t experienced any symptoms of this condition since 2001. I said I would beat it – and I did.