It was about 21 years ago when I started having symptoms. I was a junior in high school. As if puberty, academics, friends, boyfriends, and college applications were not stressful enough, I had to deal with new medical symptoms that I never experienced, or remember experiencing, before. I remember having bloody diarrhea often along with tons of cramping in my stomach. What was going on with me? Was I having an appendicitis? Super bad cramps? I remember seeing a few different doctors and being told that I needed to have a colonoscopy. After drinking that disgusting prep and “emptying my colon” the whole night before, I went through my first colonoscopy. My mom and I went to have a follow-up appointment with the gastroenterologist who told us, “I think you have ulcerative colitis.” I think? That wasn’t good enough for us, so we went to the head of Gastroenterology at University of Pennsylvania. Although I didn’t want to go through a second colonoscopy, I did, so he could “get a good look at things.” After this doctor confirmed the ulcerative colitis diagnosis, Mom and I were able to accept the news a little easier. Now what???? Where do we go from here????
Tina Landis
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