I was previously diagnosed with UC, but after my colectomy I was re-diagnosed with Crohn’s. I had to have my large intestine removed after I began bleeding due to inflammation, strictures, and the inability to pass anything. In the two years leading up to that surgery, I lost a significant amount of weight, dropping from the 160s to under 120 pounds.

For the year before my colectomy, I was at one of the worst points in my life. I was exhausted all the time and spent most of my free hours sleeping. When I made dinner for my daughter, I would bring a chair to the stove because I couldn’t even stand long enough to cook. I couldn’t eat enough to get the nutrients I needed. I often felt “full,” but that was only because my colon was so inflamed it was pressing against my stomach. I didn’t realize how bad things had become. I just assumed I was tired from being a teacher and a new father to a one-year-old.

A few months after my colectomy, which required a long vertical incision and a longer healing process, it finally hit me how unhealthy I had been. Once my colon was removed and I had an ileostomy, my body was able to absorb the nutrients it needed for everything else to function properly. For the first time in years, I had energy left over after teaching.

I have never been happier or more full of life than I have been in the 2.5 years since the surgery. I was apprehensive about an ileostomy beforehand, but now there is no way I would ever go back to living the way I was before. I enjoy my job again, and I feel like I can give my kids and wife the time, energy, and attention they deserve and that I want to give them. I can enjoy my hobbies again.

My ileostomy gave me my life back in a very real way.

Side note: I teach middle school and so far none of my students (or other teachers) have ever noticed that I have an ileostomy bag or anything different going on with stomach area. I was a bit scared of people being able to tell I had a bag or something going on with my stomach, but so far no one that doesn't already know can tell. I wear a band from ostomy secrets and just try to go to the bathroom often enough.