Never give up hope

11 years ago I got diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Being undiagnosed for so many years made my Crohn's hard to treat. I began Remicade and it began to work for five years which lead me into remission. Then it started to stop working when I was in high school. My symptoms came back worse than ever.

I was told my next option was surgery which gave me a temporary colostomy. Slowly my life returned back to normal I returned back to school and could do things i couldn't do prior to surgery. A year after surgery I got admitted to the hospital for a flare up. Little did I know this admission would result me being in the hospital for 9 months. My health turned upside down when my appendix ruptured and i developed 3 abscesses, my intestine perforated, and went septic.

I spent many months fighting for my life until I was healthy enough for surgery. This year marks 3 years since that 9 month long hospitalization. 3 years ago I never thought I would be where I am today. Im a full time college student studying for nursing and work full time. Everyones IBD journey is unique and one thing I have learned is to never give up hope.