Courage Takes Guts: Lessons Learned from a Lost Colon

“You have Crohn’s disease.” Those paralyzing words are as clear today as they were back in 1966. I was seventeen, sick, and no one was listening. Doctors dismissed my severe diarrhea, alarming weight loss, crippling abdominal pain, fevers, and arrested physical development as “nervousness.” When an emergency appendectomy finally revealed what had been tormenting my body for nearly two years, I started on a journey of self-discovery. Soon, I would face the biggest decision of my life: let Crohn’s disease beat me, or take my life into my own hands. Today, I’m here to assure you that you can live life to the fullest with an ostomy.