Struggling With Crohn's Disease
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I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2009, it started out with the occasional flare up. Sometimes got bad enough that I had to take a lot of time from work off and even to the point of taking a whole semester off from college. I was put on medication that was working well for years and last year I was finally able to graduate with a degree in Photography. This is my greatest passion in life and is what I have been working toward for many years. This is my American dream: to be a professional photographer.
At the beginning of this year things got really bad, I began to have to worst flare up I had ever experienced. My doctor put me on stronger medication but after a few weeks nothing had changed, in fact I was getting worse. I ended up having to go to the ER and was admitted to the hospital. After a week of tests and the inability to advance my diet (I had lost over 20lbs by the way, went from 145lbs to 120lbs in two months), it was determined I had a small bowel obstruction and surgery was required. When I came out of surgery I was told that it was even worse then they had expected because they had found a fissure that was previously unseen because the inflammation was so bad. So they also had to perform a temporary ileostomy so now I have the ostomy bag hanging from my gut and another procedure to reverse it in about eight weeks.
So after all this I have been unable to work for this entire year and I have a few more months where I will be unable to work. I have been being supported by my girlfriend whom I live with, we also have a three year old dog and five year old cat. She has been taking care of all of the bills and working as much as she can but it is getting too hard on her. I really am just aiming for help with rent and other small bills for the next few months when I am unable to work. My goal is $1000.00 and anything after that I will donate 10% to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. I thank you in advance and will do so many more times in the future for ANY help I receive.
At the beginning of this year things got really bad, I began to have to worst flare up I had ever experienced. My doctor put me on stronger medication but after a few weeks nothing had changed, in fact I was getting worse. I ended up having to go to the ER and was admitted to the hospital. After a week of tests and the inability to advance my diet (I had lost over 20lbs by the way, went from 145lbs to 120lbs in two months), it was determined I had a small bowel obstruction and surgery was required. When I came out of surgery I was told that it was even worse then they had expected because they had found a fissure that was previously unseen because the inflammation was so bad. So they also had to perform a temporary ileostomy so now I have the ostomy bag hanging from my gut and another procedure to reverse it in about eight weeks.
So after all this I have been unable to work for this entire year and I have a few more months where I will be unable to work. I have been being supported by my girlfriend whom I live with, we also have a three year old dog and five year old cat. She has been taking care of all of the bills and working as much as she can but it is getting too hard on her. I really am just aiming for help with rent and other small bills for the next few months when I am unable to work. My goal is $1000.00 and anything after that I will donate 10% to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. I thank you in advance and will do so many more times in the future for ANY help I receive.
Organizer
Tim Buisman
Organizer
Rochester, NY
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