Shawn Bethea
Diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at 17-years-old, initially Shawntel chose to hide her condition. It wasn't until after the removal of her colon (in 2014) that Shawntel realized the importance of sharing her story and spreading awareness. Shawntel is now a writer a patient advocate.
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Depression won’t ever be overly-discussed. Depression is not like an outfit that will go out of style. Depression is
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With all of the stressors that Inflammatory Bowel Disease brings into my life, one thing that does bring
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Living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, there were so many days I felt so discouraged. There were so many times
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Traveling with Inflammatory Bowel Disease is always interesting. Especially so when bringing up the topic of international travel!
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Although I am not a parent impacted by Inflammatory Bowel Disease, I was a child with Ulcerative
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The other day I was watching one of my favorite shows. It’s a medical show. A guy came in with
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I knew someone a while ago. She and I actually met in the hospital. She was special. She was
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Read part one here: A Hard Life Part 1 So there I was. Alone. Sitting in a tub
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You’re gone. It hurts. Well mentally. It hurts mentally because you were actually the cause of my physical pain. There are days
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I admit I have been an extremely selfish person over my lifetime. I’m very giving, but I can also
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As people living with chronic conditions, we tend to live with a lot more stressors than everyone else. We
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Read Part 1 here. Being a patient is almost easy compared to what I’ve witnessed as a
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Recently I was listening to a sermon. It spoke volumes to me. It was about help. I personally have a
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When living a life full of flares, pain, and worries it can be easy to fall into that
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All of my life I’ve been a patient and a caregiver. I’ve taken care of myself and my family.
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After my first J-pouch surgery, life was pretty complicated. It took time to adjust. Life with an ostomy
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It’s yet another Pouch-aversary for me! This one is a special one! Three years. I can’t believe it’s been three
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A while ago I was sitting at a table at a conference with a bunch of
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Living with any chronic condition can be lonely. Many of us have friends and family, but how many
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It’s 4am and I’m just getting home from the gym. This was my first time going back in a
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