My life has changed just by one moment. The moment I was diagnosed with Collagenous Colitis; an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the colon. Just this year I’ve been to the hospital twice, not even six months apart. The first time was in January, the second April. In the month of April, due to a flare up, my parents had to take me to the Florida Hospital emergency room at three in the morning. Being in the hospital yet again and even worse than the first time I felt like giving up on life, I felt as though I couldn’t take the agony and struggle of it all. I could tell my parents felt deep sympathy for me, and wanted nothing more than for me to feel better.
    

While in the emergency room I was sent to have an x-ray done of my stomach, to see if they found anything unusual. After having the x-ray done, I was brought back to the emergency room where several nurses tried to put an IV in. I was so dehydrated my veins got smaller making it harder to find a vein. A doctor came in to talk about having a CT scan done, to get a better look at my stomach. In order to have that done, you have to drink two bottles of contrast to help the doctors see the lining of your organs better. I couldn’t do it. I’m not much of a drinker as it is and I wasn’t feeling well enough to drink half of a bottle. I ended up not getting it done, it made me feel as if I was letting my parents and myself down.
   

I was admitted to the hospital and waited a while for an available room. Finally, there was an open room and I got settled in. Since there was no success in getting an IV put in when I was in the emergency room, a nurse tried a couple times on my left arm and was successful. I was in so much pain from getting stuck with needles over and over again all over my arms, all I could do was cry. While crying a thought had occurred to me, although I am unfortunate to have this disease, it’s a blessing that my sisters don’t have what I have.
   

The second or third day of being in the hospital I had to get a PICC-line put in because I was malnourished and it would be easier to administer medication. They poked me with a needle to numb the upper part of my right arm so I wouldn’t feel what they were doing but, it didn’t really work because I could feel every push and pull of the tube going in my vein. The tube kept getting stuck near the armpit area so they decided to try my upper left arm. Still they were having complications like on the right arm near the armpit area. Eventually they got it through to my heart. The whole time I was crying trying not to think about the excruciating pain and uncomfortable feeling of it all.
     

I was put on TPN and lipids (fats) because I’ve lost so much weight due to not being able to keep anything down. The doctor(s) ordered tests to check me for Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and various of other diseases. All the results came back negative, which is a good thing. The anticipation of waiting for the results to come back was very stressful and nerve racking. Everyday a nurse would come in and draw my blood from the PICC-line to check my levels and make sure they were getting back to where they needed to be.
    

The fourth or fifth day I was able to have liquid foods (broths and clear juices). If I could tolerate the doctor(s) would let me gradually work my way to eating solid foods again. The thought of finally being able to eat some type of food would feel as if I was eating for the first time in my life. Every day and night I was restless, being woken up every hour or so for vitals, medication, or to get my blood drawn. I would feel like it was a dream when they came in because I didn’t get much sleep from having to go to the bathroom every ten to fifteen minutes. In total, I was at the Florida Hospital for a devastating week and three days.
    

This obstacle has definitely made both a positive and negative impact in my life. Getting diagnosed with Colitis, I’ve learned how to speak up more about how I am feeling when I go to the doctors or even my parents. I am more responsible about taking my health more serious and has allowed me to have a better sense of what I can and cannot eat. It has brought me closer than ever to my family. Through all of this I have grown stronger in my faith, to put my full trust in God. With what I have been through I can help others who may be experiencing what I did and help them to get through it more easily, by letting them know that there is always someone there to help them through the pain and tears. I can say that I have become a stronger and more grateful person despite of having to change a lot of things in my life.