Denise's Story

Denise, Age 18

The other day my sister was at the dentist and she saw a commercial on IBD. She told me what it was all about. By what she was telling me it seemed to be a VERY positive commercial. It made it clear that IBD wasn't terminal and it was very treatable. Well a commercial like that makes me so mad! They made it seem like IBD was such a pleasure to have.

Like a lot of you here, my UC was NOT treatable at all. I wish the person who made that commercial got to live a day in my life. I have accidents at least twice a day, can't eat by mouth, eat with the help of a tube that was surgically put in my chest (TPN), wore diapers, took a lot of medicine, had a lot of pain, didn't get to go to regular school, had no friends, had no life, had to live off of blood transfusions, had to cancel a big birthday party because I had to be admitted.On top of that had to worry about cancer.

I started dealing with all of this when I was 11, when most kids were playing with their toys. I remember going to one of the best surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic and him telling me either I had surgery, or I would die. He was that blunt. THAT is what I would put in a commercial.

When I hear people say IBD is treatable I laugh my butt off.

Denise was bagged, in hopes of having internal pouch surgery. She had several cancerous polyps removed at that time. Her rectum continued to bleed. The rectum is necessary for the pouch. Her condition improved for a few months and she proceeded with step one of the pouch surgery. She has been in and out of the hospital since, with dehydration as food and liquids are moving through too quickly. Her remaining inch of rectum is still bleeding. The pouch is damaged and she will be going in for another surgery on February 10th to repair that if it's possible. If it can't be repaired she will have to live with the ileostomy and hope that the disease doesn't spread. Three years ago she was granted a wish by the Make A Wish Foundation; she hasn't been able to use it, as she has been too ill.)