Craig's Story

All the stories I have read are so touching. You are all survivors! I'm 27 years old and I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at the age of 12. I was pretty lucky because my family Doctor was a great one and he diagnosed me right away. I took quite a few different sets of pills back then that I probably still could not spell. Even though they, The Specialists, had me on the pills I developed Perianal disease. I had several reoccuring fistulas around my rectum and all they could do for me was dope me up on pain killers, and take chunks outta my butt.

Well the fistulas finally dried up when I was 14. I played a lot of sports and continued to play them even when I was in a flare up. It was my way of coping with everything, my something to look forward to.

Fast forward to when I was 18 years old. I started developing fistulas again around my rectum, and for 2 straight years of this they tried drugs that did not work and surgery to relieve the pressure from the abscesses.

At the age of 21, I was told that there was a great chance that if I had an ileostomy (to stop any use of the rectum) that the fistulas would drain, dry and heal. And I was told they wanted to remove my rectum and the Doctor who said this plain as day said "oh and you stand a chance of losing the ability to have sex and kids." I was devastated! 21 years old with a Colostomy, no sex and never kids... What woman would want me I thought? So then I sought a second opinion. I am now 27 I have surgical wire (I call it fish wire) holding the fistulas open because they close then keep repocketing. In all I have had over 20 small operations and 1 large one, and emergency drainages, but I still have my rectum!

I had a hard time when I was given the colostomy and I developed severe anxiety. I would barely leave the house unless I was messed up on pain killers. I did not want anyone to see me naked, I felt so ashamed of the way I looked. So I went into hiding. I was also blessed with a great support group which is my Family. When I was at my lowest and just wanted to be numb, they stepped in and made me deal with how I felt and the anxiety I had.

Now I have a new attitude. So what if the ileostomy did not work? I stay positive because I won't let this beat me. Last year I moved to a bigger Center, better Hospital and I was finally blessed. I started taking Remicade, and I have never been better. I still have the ileostomy, but I can finally sit and stand, eat and keep weight on. I play hockey again. To me it's a miracle. I may not be able to hold down a job but so what? I decided to start my own company.

I guess the moral of my story is that starting to feel better starts in the mind. Develop a positive mind set so if you start to feel sick again, that positive mind-set will help you overcome all the obstacles you may face. That's worked for me anyways, and I just wanted to share it with you.

...Craig

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