Stephanie Goodyear, originally from Barry’s Bay, Ontario, was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis in 2021 at 15 years old. In September 2024, she started a Bachelor of Science in Major Animal Biology at the University of Guelph. She is also a recipient of one of the 15 annual $5,000 AbbVie IBD scholarships awarded in 2024.
In 2023, Stephanie took part in the Royal Canadian Legion's Annual Public Speaking Competition in Ontario. She shared her journey with colitis, along with her positive philosophy that laughter is the best medicine. She won first place at the first four levels and second place in the senior division. She generously donated her $525 in winnings to Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. What follows is an edited version of her speech.
It was October 2021, I was 15 years old and had started getting into a groove with my grade 10 studies. Outside of school, I was enjoying my part-time job as well as my passion for horseback riding. Simply put, life was great.
Then it began. At first, I did not think anything of it. The frequent bowel movements were just a 24-hour stomach bug. But when hours turned into days, and days into weeks, I knew this must be something more.
My family doctor ruled out infection. She agreed, this was definitely something more. I was referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist – and the waiting began. As I waited to see the specialist, my symptom list grew as did my number of bowel movements per day. I was averaging 10 per day with two or three during the night. I would wake up and literally have seconds to get to the bathroom. I was so weak I could barely sit on the toilet and the pain that I had during a bowel movement was profound. There was blood in the stool every time. I had nausea, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, and chills. I felt my mental health slipping for the first time in my life.
My parents feared I was approaching a breaking point, so off to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) we went, determined to stay there until we got answers. By that time, I had lost 22 pounds and my symptoms were relentless. After many tests and diagnostic procedures, a pediatric gastroenterologist diagnosed me with severe ulcerative colitis. Finally, a diagnosis!
The doctors immediately started me on high dose intravenous steroids to get the inflammation under control. For the first time in a month, I started to feel like a human being again!
Next, they started me on my first immunosuppressive drug. Over the next year, I was admitted to CHEO three more times as my doctor tried one immunosuppressive drug after another, only to see them fail. I am currently on my fourth and final immunosuppressive drug. What do I mean by final? Well, if this drug fails, there are no alternative drugs for me. The next step will be surgery.
Surgery for colitis involves the removal of the large bowel, the creation of a hole on the right side of your stomach and an external bag to collect stool. You wear this bag everywhere, all the time.
How do I deal with situation? This brings me to the healing power of humour. If there is one thing the colitis community embraces, it is seeing the humour in our “crappy” situation.
Postings on ulcerative colitis patient group pages often involve potty humor, usually a captioned funny photo. If my journey has taught me anything, it is that although it can be hard to come to terms with such an unwelcome diagnosis, I know that with patience, determination, and a large dose of humour, I will get through this.
Laughter really is the best medicine.
Stephanie accepting the Royal Canadian Legion Annual Public Speaking Award for 2023
Stephanie with her riding horse.