Alec 
Alec's Story
Alec, Age 14
The first time I noticed anything related to IBD was when I was playing golf (I'm a bit of a golf buff). I had a lot of abdominal discomfort, and felt like I had to go to the washroom. It would go away after a while. A couple of days after the first cramp, I had bloody diarrhea. I was too embarrassed to tell my parents, so I just kept it a secret. About a month passed, until I was at a family reunion. Part of a reunion was that all the men played golf. It was a very hot day. After I had putted out on the ninth hole, I thought I would go lie down in the shade at the back of the green. As I laid down, I felt kind of queasy. My dad looked over at me to ask if I had just seen his last putt (which was a good one). As heturned his head to look at me, I woofed my cookies (threw up).
The next day, I was at my family doctor's office. The doctor came in and asked the usual questions and listened to my chest. He then ordered a blood sample to be taken. I had my blood taken, and was told to go back to the doctor's office in an hour.
"The doctor then told me that I would have to have a blood transfusion. This scared the heck out of me..."
To pass the time, we went to the Mall which was close by (by the way, it's the biggest mall in the world). We went to a golf store. To cheer me up, my dad bought me a hat. We went back to the doctor's office to get the results. Again we waited in the lobby. When a room finally opened up, the nurse led us to a room. The doctor then told me that I would have to have a blood transfusion. This scared the heck out of me (I thought blood transfusions were for people who got shot). I was eleven at the time.
The following week, I went for my first appointment with my GI. She told me that the first doctor was ridiculous in saying that I needed a blood transfusion. I felt like a Hummer had been lifted off my chest. She put me on medication and iron. The next week I went for a sigmoidoscopy which revealed UC. Besides the occasional flare, I was living a pretty normal life.
Over Christmas of '97, I had a major flare. My GI put me on Prednisone which worked for a couple of weeks. My symptoms roared back with a vengeance and got me hospitalized in February. I had to have a central line put in so I could be fed TPN. I also underwent 2 blood transfusions. Even on bowel rest, I was still having diarrhea and blood. I eventually went into toxic megacolon and had no choice but surgery. The months between the first and the last surgery seemed like ten forevers. I had the reconnect in August '98. Besides a severe case of pouchitis, things have been going pretty good.