Adaptability. Compassion. Patience. Three things I know a lot about.
I was a skater and hockey player. I studied with a world champ skimboarder. I hiked, rock climbed, excelled in swimming and diving, and ran cross-country. I snowboarded on Mammoth Mountain. Everything was a great adventure for me and nothing seemed impossible…at least not until I was sixteen, when my life turned upside down.
I just started high school, but was always exhausted. I woke up every day feeling like I had the flu. I was going to the bathroom more and more, had stomach pains, relentless cramping, and constant nausea. I pushed the food around on my plate so everyone would think I was eating. I would wake up in the middle of the night soaking wet with …show more content…
I researched and felt certain I knew what was wrong. It was like putting a puzzle together, and the only missing piece was “why?” Then the vomiting started. I ended up in the hospital dehydrated, skinny, exhausted, and suffering with my first perianal abscess. When I told my doctors again what I thought was wrong, they ordered more tests—and, finally, a colonoscopy. My hunch was right. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and my life changed forever. Lesson One: Adaptability.
My first experience in the hospital was my worst. It was a new world to me. I didn’t know how to be sick. I felt helpless. My mom ran from doctor to doctor, nurse to nurse asking questions and trying to get answers. Neither of us knew how far to push for help, for answers, for assistance. We felt as though no one was listening.
An hour before my first surgery, a nurse tried to start an IV. I was so dehydrated that finding a vein was impossible. She kept poking, prodding, and fishing. When my mom saw my eyes well up with tears, she insisted the nurse stop. When they wheeled me into surgery, the anesthesiologist looked at my arm and apologized. I realized then that I must always be in control of my …show more content…
*Antibodies, antigens, agonists, target receptors, enzymes, inflammatory cascades, recombinant DNA. I now understood the cellular and molecular levels of my disease.
My surgeons held out no hope of my responding to anything less than removal of my colon, terminal ileum and small bowel, which meant not returning for my senior class. I thought about how escalated biologic therapy worked, and remembered Dr. Shah telling me to always trust my instincts. When I considered my body’s slower response time to medication, I knew that* time was the additive I needed to heal. I declined the surgery. I took the risk. And* time, indeed, has proven to be my ally.
I have had to adapt. I have been on the other side of compassion, so I know how important compassion is. I understand the benefits of patience. I am challenged every day by my disease, but I view it as a learning experience and character builder. My own unique adventure. I am confident the challenges I face and the lessons I learn from them will make me a doctor valued not only for my knowledge and skills, but for my character, as well. I am certain of
I was a skater and hockey player. I studied with a world champ skimboarder. I hiked, rock climbed, excelled in swimming and diving, and ran cross-country. I snowboarded on Mammoth Mountain. Everything was a great adventure for me and nothing seemed impossible…at least not until I was sixteen, when my life turned upside down.
I just started high school, but was always exhausted. I woke up every day feeling like I had the flu. I was going to the bathroom more and more, had stomach pains, relentless cramping, and constant nausea. I pushed the food around on my plate so everyone would think I was eating. I would wake up in the middle of the night soaking wet with …show more content…
I researched and felt certain I knew what was wrong. It was like putting a puzzle together, and the only missing piece was “why?” Then the vomiting started. I ended up in the hospital dehydrated, skinny, exhausted, and suffering with my first perianal abscess. When I told my doctors again what I thought was wrong, they ordered more tests—and, finally, a colonoscopy. My hunch was right. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and my life changed forever. Lesson One: Adaptability.
My first experience in the hospital was my worst. It was a new world to me. I didn’t know how to be sick. I felt helpless. My mom ran from doctor to doctor, nurse to nurse asking questions and trying to get answers. Neither of us knew how far to push for help, for answers, for assistance. We felt as though no one was listening.
An hour before my first surgery, a nurse tried to start an IV. I was so dehydrated that finding a vein was impossible. She kept poking, prodding, and fishing. When my mom saw my eyes well up with tears, she insisted the nurse stop. When they wheeled me into surgery, the anesthesiologist looked at my arm and apologized. I realized then that I must always be in control of my …show more content…
*Antibodies, antigens, agonists, target receptors, enzymes, inflammatory cascades, recombinant DNA. I now understood the cellular and molecular levels of my disease.
My surgeons held out no hope of my responding to anything less than removal of my colon, terminal ileum and small bowel, which meant not returning for my senior class. I thought about how escalated biologic therapy worked, and remembered Dr. Shah telling me to always trust my instincts. When I considered my body’s slower response time to medication, I knew that* time was the additive I needed to heal. I declined the surgery. I took the risk. And* time, indeed, has proven to be my ally.
I have had to adapt. I have been on the other side of compassion, so I know how important compassion is. I understand the benefits of patience. I am challenged every day by my disease, but I view it as a learning experience and character builder. My own unique adventure. I am confident the challenges I face and the lessons I learn from them will make me a doctor valued not only for my knowledge and skills, but for my character, as well. I am certain of