My story
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) in 2006 after continuously being run down, losing weight, having poor appetite and mood. It was kept at bay with a myriad of tablets for about a year before I started getting severe abdomen pains and continued to lose weight. After three visits to the hospital, weeks of IV steroids, 13 days awake straight and 20 kilogrammes dropped in less than a month, late 2007 I ended up in emergency surgery and received a temporary ileostomy I called Squish. This was one of the most challenging times of my life. Before UC I considered myself to be an outgoing active person and used to pride myself on being the life of the party. Now I was severely depressed and couldn’t look at myself in the mirror without crying, let alone leave the house and be social. Luckily I had some amazing friends that stood by my side (sometimes literally holding me up) even when I was pushing them away.
