The worst summer of my life

So day two of the diet wasn't much different than day one, so today I've decided to write about the summer when my whole life changed.

Last summer (2010), I felt like I was the picture of perfect health. I was running a couple times a week and going to a kickboxing class at the gym. I was in good health - here is a picture of me with my "sisters" from Spain at the Fourth of July.

The week after this picture was taken, I was a counselor at my church's summer camp. When I got home from camp I just wasn't feeling well. My stomach hurt and I was exhausted. I figured I had just picked up a bug from camp - moldy cabins and bad camp food. But my symptoms soon got worst - to the point I wasn't able to hold down food at all.

I went to my primary care doctor cause I knew this was not something that would just pass. That was a Thursday afternoon three weeks after I got home from camp. She referred me to a GI specialist with an appointment on Monday - I never made that appointment.

That Sunday, I finally mustered the strength to attend a graduation party for my friend Elise. I was exhausted and felt horrible. But I went. A good family friend, Sandy Gillam (who is a nurse), was also there and just didn't feel ok with how I looked. She ended up calling my mom who showed up at my house about an hour after I got home. Mom said we're going to the hospital - I protested the whole way, but I now know that my mom's determination probably saved my life.

When we arrived at the ER, I was immediately taken to a room - my pulse and blood pressure were dangerously low.  Soon after I got to a room, I was given two blood transfusions. I now know that the doctors were really nervous that I could have a heart attack - really scary.

I then was moved upstairs into a real room at Kennestone Hospital and met with a GI specialists the next day. After several test and biopsies the doctor determined that I either had ulcerative colotis or Crohn's, we'd have to wait for the results of the biopsies to really narrow it down. In the follow up visit, the doctor said the biopsies showed that it was Crohns.

I ended up staying in the hospital for 5 horrible days. For most of those days I was on a liquid diet. By day three of the liquid diet, when they asked me if I wanted chicken, beef or vegetable broth, I told them to spin a wheel and choose one cause they all taste the same. I'm not really a good patient.

So that is how this whole journey of dealing with Crohn's began. It was a scary time in my life that really changed my life. It's been a roller coaster, especially emotionally.

But I think my new path has leveled everything out. I think I'm finally on my way to being that picture of perfect health again!