Sarah's Crohn's Blog - A Birthday Thank You

Sarah’s Crohn’s Blog is a series of journal entries related to Sarah’s battle with Crohn’s Disease. She was initially diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2010, but since then the diagnosis has changed to Crohn’s Disease. Anything referring to ulcerative colitis in these blogs was simply written before the diagnosis changed.

August 11, 2020

Thank you everybody for the birthday wishes! This same time last year, I was on a birthday backpacking adventure with terrible abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and bleeding that marked the beginning of a miserable medical journey that consumed my entire 31st year of life. After spending over 100 days in the hospital with three surgeries, multiple complications, hair loss, weight loss, and permanent drug side effects, I have now reached the light at the end of the tunnel... a.k.a. the best birthday present ever. On August 6, I got surgery to reverse my ileostomy and finally get rid of my poop bag, and boy am I happy! Three days ago, Dale and I returned home with no more procedures in the foreseeable future.Two days ago, I took my first "naked" shower that didn't include medical equipment or intestines sticking out of my body. Yesterday, I wore a form-fitting shirt and pants that I didn't have to roll down below my ostomy bag. Every day, I enjoy a simple pleasure that I used to take for granted, and it has completely changed my outlook on life.

I began my 32nd birthday with 7 new scars on my abdomen, and I can safely say those scars are memories I will never lose, and those memories will remind me each day of how lucky I am. I have so many things to look forward to as I put this behind me: getting back into shape, returning to work, going hiking and being able to clip my hip strap around my waist, paddling without the fear of getting wet, horseback riding without worrying about my bag leaking as I get on/off the horse, grappling without ripping my bag off, getting a full night's sleep without having to empty my bag, and simply being able to live my day-to-day life without having to worry about something leaking, or being self-conscious about what I wear. I know this 6 weeks of healing will fly by, and as always I thank all of you for being so supportive and helping me get through this! Here's to 32 years!

PS - I spent my birthday resting/relaxing/healing (a wonderful day), but I do hope to have a belated celebration by paddling/camping on the Allagash to look for some moose! (This photograph is from a canoe trip from a few months ago on the St. Croix River. This river marks the border between the U.S. and Canada, so we were only able to camp on the right side of the river. I was unable to paddle because I was recovering from my second surgery, but I was still able to enjoy the beautiful scenery by driving or getting paddled to each campsite thanks to my wonderful friends!)