A moment that changed me: Crohn’s left me in constant pain. An operation restored my appetite for life | Digestive disorders
ZRowing, always loved food. On Sunday, I will order seconds of barbecue dinner. My Gran was baking cakes at the end of each week, which I was flooding in the custard. I can still remember how the biscuits the digestive system I was eaten when I arrived from school tasted, and how satisfied it is to dip it in tea while I talked to my father about my day. food We collected a family and something I always enjoyed.
Then she fell ill. I was twelve years of age when I first showed symptoms of Crohn’s disease. I started having unbearable pain in my stomach and going to the toilet a little more. Then much more. She stopped feeling hungry. My weight fell from three stones (19 kg), my period stopped and I had no energy, but my sudden lack of appetite that I missed more than others. Food has always been a source of joy. I was watching cooking and crying offers, and I remember how much I used to eat from eating. Now, my body rejected everything except for complementary drinks that pretended to contain flavors such as lime and orange, but always taste it like bile. I was fading and it was terrifying.
At the age of sixteen, the large intestine was completely removed in the hope that it would get rid of my body from the sick tissues. But Crohn returned, more brutal than ever, after I was eighteen years old. One day, I fainted when I was walking home from the university, and my body is so weak that he was hardly working. He fainted again on a vacation in New York. I was always painful, unable to adventure away from the bathroom. You are just present, drifting from moment to moment. Something required for change.
When I was 23 years old, doctors decided that I needed to eradicate the panbotoctokolic and remove the permanent fuse, where the rectum, colon and anus are completely removed and stoma is built from the small intestine, which provides waste to a bag connected to your stomach. This is often performed in two separate surgeries, but it was appearance that I was not strong enough to undergo general anesthesia more than once. Recovery was difficult; My stomach became an injured and reopened the wound that extends alongside Steama, as the surgeons were able to reach the intestine during the operation. I was at home for several months.
When I went out after two weeks in the hospital, I was painful, incredible and weak. But at home, I was allowed to start eating normally. For the first meal, I chose a jacket potato with cheese. Amazing tasted.
While my body heals, I was resting – and eating. It was the best direction I could have given. My days at home became an organized food: a delicious breakfast; elevenses; lunch; Then – after the afternoon nap – dinner, sometimes followed by dinner. My parents were happy with my vision of eating food again and enjoying meals for a long time.
The more you eat, the stronger it becomes and the more it heals. Complementary drinks have been given. Instead, she devoured grilled dinner, custard, pasta, pizza, ice cream. My life was restored, along with my appetite. I can drive, go out with friends, and sit through a full movie in the cinema without having to rush to the bathroom.
I first met my husband when I was 24 years old and still adapt to my new life with Stoma. I remember telling him nervously about it, I don’t know how his reaction will be. He could not have been more understanding. One of the things we came to do together was cooking and experimenting with new foods. We will make our pizza, try baking recipes and enjoy discovering new dining places. We once tried to make our pastries, which were disastrously wrong, but we ate them anyway.
Over the years, the tissue of the scar accumulated around Stoma, which means that my diet has become more restricted. I can no longer eat chips, bacon, raw fruits or vegetables due to the narrowing of the intestine around Stoma – a list that may grow over time. But there is still a lot I enjoy eating. Sixteen years after surgery, I am still grateful to the methods that have restored my life.
When I was a child and went out for dinner with my Gran, she was always asking candy, because sugar was fortified during the war. Now that you managed to get all the sugar you want, you didn’t want to waste a moment. I understand that mentality now. After I lost my ability to eat and enjoy food, I did not want to take it as a Muslim for him since his return. I understand the importance of a balanced diet, but I never deny myself. My body did that for me enough.
It is always in my mind by Carys Green now (Harvill Secker, 16.99 pounds). To support the guardian and the observer, ask for your copy on Guardianbookshop.com. Delivery fees may apply.
