Chantal Bellehumeur
I was 28 when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. At the time, I had no idea what it meant or how much it would change my life. For the first three and a half years after my diagnosis I was almost always sick, frequently visiting the emergency room.
I had intestinal inflammation with bleeding ulcers and couldn’t digest food properly. I was continually running to the bathroom and quickly lost fifteen pounds. I was so exhausted from constantly getting up to go to the bathroom, day and night, and for weeks I hardly had the strength to get out of bed.
I was raising a child on my own and had to keep fighting to stay strong to be there for him. It was very hard for him to see me so sickly; especially during that first visit at the hospital when I was stuck to an IV. After years of trying one failed medication after another and debating surgery, I started biologic infusions and soon went into clinical remission.
I went from struggling to keep a job and barely ever leaving the house, to being able to eat without pain and gaining healthy weight.
After 8 years and 88 biologic infusions, my medication stopped working. I took different medications on top of my regular infusions to treat the flare-ups before changing my long-term treatment, in hopes that the new medication would work. So far it has.
There was a time, not so long ago, when I didn’t know if I would ever get better. Your support helped me get through it. By donating today, you can help make a real difference in so many peoples’ lives.