In early October, my constant stomach pains and frequent vomiting led my family and me to believe that I had the stomach flu. Little did we know, this would be the start of a journey none of us were prepared for.

I later went to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), where I was later admitted to the infection floor. Upon admittance to CHOC, my doctors thought I had a type of bacterial infection, which was wreaking havoc amongst my intestines and colon. After two days of no food to clear out my system, I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy to learn what was wrong with me internally. They finally came to the diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease, a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Shreya Shah (11) explains, “I know someone who was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, and I have seen firsthand how it can affect someone mentally and physically.” 

Crohn’s Disease is when the gastrointestinal tract is inflamed, which causes various symptoms. Once I learned what was wrong with me, I started my course of treatment through blood infusions every few weeks. I finally got to go home, yet that was where my life changed more drastically. 

When I got home, I thought I wouldn’t have to live with the symptoms, and I could go back to my normal life, yet I was pretty wrong. I underestimated the effects of getting diagnosed with a chronic illness at 15 years old. I still experienced a lot of my previous symptoms, and in addition, I felt very fatigued and even lost my appetite. In a week, I lost close to 7 pounds. In 2 weeks, I lost 11 more. I started to struggle mentally; I felt weak, and I stayed confined in my room all day. I sat in bed all day, listening to music and doing homework occasionally. I didn’t want to come outside my “little shell” because I felt alone, and no one understood what I was going through. I didn’t want to eat because I was scared of the pain that would soon follow. 

Eventually, I finally realized that it was time for a change in my life and that I couldn’t live like this any longer. I decided to keep a log of what I eat and what I feel after eating certain foods. I even started to make changes in my diet and took my nutritionist’s advice on certain foods to avoid and specific foods to add to my diet. After two more weeks, I noticed a change in how I felt about myself. I was feeling much happier and more healthier. I started to get my blood infusions more regularly, and that helped me feel better as well. I even was put on a steroid drug to help me get my weight up and reduce inflammation, as well as antacids and multivitamins.

Throughout this journey, I had reached a few ups but also some of the lowest points in my life, some even leading me to believe I was never going to get better. During the time I was confined to myself, I researched my Disease so I could better understand what was going on inside of me. I went to crohnscolitisfoundation.org and started to read about what I was diagnosed with. 

IBD is starting to become more frequent in younger ages, and it is essential to be aware of the symptoms and to get checked out by a Gastroenterologist if you are developing any symptoms of IBD.