Got Guts?: 2012

Just a quick post to re-activate this blog, as I've been incommunicado for a very long time.

Hope to post more soon. Life's been busy.

Cheers,

Why I am here

I was 17 years when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. At the time, I thought that it was more like a "condition" than a disease. After that initial diagnosis, my colitis was essentially dormant for many years. It was not until I finished law school and started articling that the attacks began with increasing regularity. But I could manage these "minor inconveniences" without too much difficulty. See Mom, nothing to worry about.

I started feeling sick again around Christmas, 2005. Initially, I did not think that there was anything to this attack to distinguish it from the past. But the intensity and severity grew at a disconcerting pace during Janaury, and by February 10, 2006, I was admitted to hospital, where I had never been before. I was told that I would likely only be here for a few days, but the days quickly turned to weeks and as the standard treatment continued to fail, my options were quickly dwindling to one: surgery.

I eventually left the hospital on March 20, 2006. It was finally time to go home. I was weak and depressed and afraid of further surgery to come down the road. But I was alive. I was 29 years old and still alive. Definitely something.

I plan to use this blog to relate some of my experiences during my first hospital stay, my thoughts about adjusting to the changes in your body and self-image (a pretty big deal, if you ask me), and to my concerns during the upcoming surgery (Nov 29, 2006).

My hope that anyone reading this blog, particularly those who have gone through these experiences, or are scheduled to undergo similar surgical procedures in future, will find a little comfort or solace in these postings. Also, please share your stories - it would help others (and me!) too.

Thanks very much! And wish me luck on November 29!

Got Guts?

Sunday, March 11, 2012

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