On November 6, I woke up in probably the most pain I had ever been in. It was almost fitting that my body reduced me to my weakest state just in time for the doctor to see. He, indeed, definitely saw how sick I was when I walked into his office and after a few taps on my stomach, which I couldn’t even bear, he knew it was so severe that surgery was almost a necessity (Crazy, but true…during those prior few months, things like bumpy car rides and loud, heavy bass, music at parties increased my stomach pains from the vibrations of those movements/sounds, which made life quite boring and very restrictive for those few months). The prospect of surgery was no doubt a shock to hear, but I also handled it with a sense of calmness because I realized that nothing else was working and this was my last hope.
My GI doctor wasted no time and immediately admitted me to the hospital directly after our appointment. He scheduled one final colonoscopy for me (I think my lifetime total ended up at 6 colonoscopy’s…lol) the following morning, which confirmed the severity of my colitis and absolute certainty of surgery being required. He explained to me that I was really close to gastrointestinal perforation and that waiting any longer to have surgery could become extremely dangerous for my health. This news hit my parents pretty hard, but they saw I was still cracking jokes and acting like my normal, goofy self amidst such life-changing news that I think it put them more at ease. I mean it was GOOD “life-changing” news! Also, only having about 72 hours between finding out about surgery and the surgery itself was definitely a positive thing for my mental state.
I remember two nights before surgery, after my parents left for the night, I walked myself up to the cafeteria and got all the fried food I could carry back to my room. It had been days since I had eaten anything substantial and I was craving the good stuff. Although I paid for it the next day in the form of pain, my parents got a good laugh out of it.
Finally, on the morning of November 10, 2014, I had an ileostomy operation to remove my entire colon. My surgeon did an amazing job, it was a total success in my eyes and his. I’ll forever be grateful that I was under the care of one of the best groups of colorectal surgeons in the country.
I no longer had any pain from what I ate and felt better than I had in the last 2 years!!! It was incredible, almost unbelievable to fathom such a transformation. Now there was an incredible amount of pain from the incisions made all across my abdomen. Let me tell you, you have a lot of nerves down there. You get an idea real quick of the daily activities that require the use of your abdominals because things like getting in and out of bed, walking, ect. were really difficult. It took me about a month to fully recover, but I was at least walking without pain after about 3 weeks.
I received so many cards from friends and family when I returned home from the hospital. Not one was thrown away; they are all still in my room at home. It really lifted my spirits and motivation to recover and return to school. The biggest surprise and biggest motivation came from a card I received postmarked from State College, PA. I couldn’t believe it when I opened it to see what was probably over 50 messages from friends and classmates in our college’s student council. There were even messages from kids outside my major that I had never talked to before. It was truly a special moment reading that card.
Adjusting to life with an ostomy and tending to it daily was the hard part. I mean the sight of my small intestine outside my skin surface was mind-blowing and still is. So mind-blowing that I passed out the first time I had to change the skin appliances. Luckily, I had a home-care nurse standing right next to me.
After missing about the whole month of November, I returned to school with one goal: do whatever it takes to graduate on time with all my classmates. We had grinded through 4 hard years of classes and there was nothing I wanted more than to walk with them at graduation. The first step toward reaching this goal was catching up with my fall semester classes. I was, indeed, able to make up the missed assignments and exams to finish the semester on time, with the exception of a final project in one class I turned in after winter break. I was still adjusting to the ostomy come Spring (2015) semester, but 
slowly becoming my old self again. I was getting back to playing sports and exercising and most importantly, didn’t have to worry about where the closest bathroom was at all times.
Another huge goal was being physically able to participate in THON weekend, which is a 46 hour dance marathon in Penn State’s basketball arena that is the culmination of a yearlong fundraising effort for children with pediatric cancer. Having gone through such a terrible stretch of life due to my colitis, I not only could relate to the physical and mental pain these children were going through, but I had such a motivation to immediately get back involved in my college’s THON effort because I knew, first hand, what all the outside support did for me in terms of keeping such a positive outlook through my whole battle.
And come the afternoon of Friday, February 20th, 2015, I fulfilled that goal as I ended up dancing in the stands for about 25 hours that weekend. 7 dancers represented our College of Earth and Mineral Sciences that weekend as they stood and danced for those 46 hours straight. Just as they supported me during my fight, I was there in the stands supporting and cheering them on as they were symbols for a cause much greater than themselves. It was by far the most emotional of the four THON weekend’s I was apart of as an undergrad, but I think that was a true representation of how I now truly realized the 
preciousness of life. Every day is a gift and I try to respect that fact in everything I do.
Before my surgery, my closest friends and I had already planned a spring break trip to Grand Cayman. A spring break trip to the Caribbean better involve a lot of swimming. I was worried about how I would be able to do that, but with the help of the StealthBelt (http://stealthbelt.com/), I didn’t have to worry. Instead, I was able to enjoy the pristine Caribbean waters just as much as my friends did…along with eating some Doritos.
The rest of the semester finished out great. My friends and I were able to do most of the things we loved doing together one last time. Come early May 2015, with graduation only a few days away, I had just secured a job upon graduation in Boston and couldn’t have been happier. So happy I made sure my ostomy got some of the limelight as I got a few graduation pictures with it wearing my tassel. We had done it! A few nights later, in what I’d argue as one of the proudest moments of my life so far, I walked to accept my diploma with many of my closest friends and classmates. It was truly an amazing achievement, something I didn’t totally believe was 100% possible when I left for home on that November 4, 2014 afternoon.
Since the humid days of last summer, I’ve dealt with skin rash issues around my ostomy that makes being
as active as I normally am more of a challenge. I can only receive a certain number of supplies through my health insurance every month and can’t afford to change appliances every single day. But, nonetheless, I’ve gotten back into exercising as well as playing soccer competitively again. Wearing a belt with dress pants really is the worst part about the skin rash being present. I’ve been working since last May so it’s been a real struggle getting it to heal, which it totally hasn’t, and its been uncomfortable at times with the bag right at my waist.
I surely haven’t let the rash or the ostomy bag, itself, stop me from enjoying life and challenging myself physically. In July, I hiked up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park on a very fitting cool, misty, summer Maine day. The ostomy bag and I took our talents to the Rocky Mountains in October where we hiked up a member of the 14er club, Mt. Bierstadt, west of Denver, CO.
Finally, A BIG THANKS to the 4 other amigos I lived with during that roller-coaster senior year who helped me with so many things and put up with all my whining even if you were just pretending to listen to me haha
303 For Life, homies
The Ulcerative Colitis Chronicles 