A Little Sunshine for Andrea
Donation protected
Andrea's fight against Ulcerative Colitis
A little over a year ago after dealing with uncomfortable stomach pains and frequent trips to the bathroom Andrea sought help from her doctor to find out what was going on. She was told at the time that she had mild Ulcerative Proctitis and that it was nothing to be concerned about. She went on living her life, working hard as a nanny (we call her the baby whisperer) and going to college working towards her bachelors in Healthcare Management. As you can imagine, taking care of two babies full time and going to college is a little bit stressful!
During this time she had mild "flare ups" off and on but just dealt with it. Then sometime around November 2014 her cramps and abdominal pain became much worse and she was running to the bathroom more frequently. She went to see a new GI Dr and was again diagnosed with Ulcerative Proctitis and given medications to help with the symptoms.
Now if you know Andrea, she is not one to sit back and let something like this control her life. She has always been full of life and passionate about what foods she puts in her body. Prior to any of this starting, she was a healthy young woman who was eating organics, juicing and living a healthy lifestyle. Her frequent posts on Facebook made us all envious of her wonderful meals and her home away from home was "Whole Foods Market". In addition to the standard medical treatments, Andrea started taking various probiotics, supplements and following a strict diet designed to help with inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
Even with Andrea doing everything right, her symptoms started turning severe in March and in early May she was diagnosed with moderate/severe Pancolitis (her entire colon was inflamed). Things got really bad while she was on vacation visiting her family in Florida as she was rushed to the ER with severe abdominal pain and given IV steroids – she had some slight improvement but it didn’t last. Upon returning to Boston she has had 2 more hospital stays with worsening symptoms and to date has spent over a month in the hospital. All of the standard treatments failed to control the disease leaving her in severe pain and unable to eat - she has lost close to 30lbs and is physically and emotionally exhausted from her fight with this disease. On the advice of her great medical team at Mass General Hospital and with no other options, Andrea underwent major surgery on July 1st to remove her colon. This is the first of three operations that will be required to give her what is called a jpouch - a procedure that will give her back her health and allow her to lead a normal life.
Ulcerative Colitis is a chronic disease with little understanding of what causes it. It can strike people of all ages but seems to affect primarily children, teens and young adults in prime of their lives. Such is the case with Andrea, who at 23 years young, healthy and just getting started with life was struck with this terrible and debilitating illness.
There are still challenges ahead of her but she is on the road to recovery. That said, she will be unable to work for many months as she goes through the additional surgeries and healing process. Andrea is proud of having worked since her early teens and being pretty much on her own and taking care of herself financially since graduating high school. She would never ask for help but her circumstances are making it difficult to cover her rising medical bills and living expenses. Her friends and family are doing what she cannot - asking for your help!
A little over a year ago after dealing with uncomfortable stomach pains and frequent trips to the bathroom Andrea sought help from her doctor to find out what was going on. She was told at the time that she had mild Ulcerative Proctitis and that it was nothing to be concerned about. She went on living her life, working hard as a nanny (we call her the baby whisperer) and going to college working towards her bachelors in Healthcare Management. As you can imagine, taking care of two babies full time and going to college is a little bit stressful!
During this time she had mild "flare ups" off and on but just dealt with it. Then sometime around November 2014 her cramps and abdominal pain became much worse and she was running to the bathroom more frequently. She went to see a new GI Dr and was again diagnosed with Ulcerative Proctitis and given medications to help with the symptoms.
Now if you know Andrea, she is not one to sit back and let something like this control her life. She has always been full of life and passionate about what foods she puts in her body. Prior to any of this starting, she was a healthy young woman who was eating organics, juicing and living a healthy lifestyle. Her frequent posts on Facebook made us all envious of her wonderful meals and her home away from home was "Whole Foods Market". In addition to the standard medical treatments, Andrea started taking various probiotics, supplements and following a strict diet designed to help with inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
Even with Andrea doing everything right, her symptoms started turning severe in March and in early May she was diagnosed with moderate/severe Pancolitis (her entire colon was inflamed). Things got really bad while she was on vacation visiting her family in Florida as she was rushed to the ER with severe abdominal pain and given IV steroids – she had some slight improvement but it didn’t last. Upon returning to Boston she has had 2 more hospital stays with worsening symptoms and to date has spent over a month in the hospital. All of the standard treatments failed to control the disease leaving her in severe pain and unable to eat - she has lost close to 30lbs and is physically and emotionally exhausted from her fight with this disease. On the advice of her great medical team at Mass General Hospital and with no other options, Andrea underwent major surgery on July 1st to remove her colon. This is the first of three operations that will be required to give her what is called a jpouch - a procedure that will give her back her health and allow her to lead a normal life.
Ulcerative Colitis is a chronic disease with little understanding of what causes it. It can strike people of all ages but seems to affect primarily children, teens and young adults in prime of their lives. Such is the case with Andrea, who at 23 years young, healthy and just getting started with life was struck with this terrible and debilitating illness.
There are still challenges ahead of her but she is on the road to recovery. That said, she will be unable to work for many months as she goes through the additional surgeries and healing process. Andrea is proud of having worked since her early teens and being pretty much on her own and taking care of herself financially since graduating high school. She would never ask for help but her circumstances are making it difficult to cover her rising medical bills and living expenses. Her friends and family are doing what she cannot - asking for your help!
Organizer and beneficiary
Josh Lambert
Organizer
Scituate, MA
Andrea Curran-Buccini
Beneficiary