Sasha 
Sasha's Story
Sasha, Age 13
HI, my name is Sasha. I am 13 and a half and have had UC for almost a year. It started at about 5th grade. Being vegetarian and my mom having a masters in nutrition my family was always very health. Except I had always been very skinny.
Anyway, about halfway through 5th grade I started to get really sick with really minor viruses as the flu. For a small flu bug I could be out of school two too three weeks at a time and lose somewhere between 10-15 pounds. My body had no fat reserves and it would take me months to gain the weight back.
As a overachiever this was hard on me because I also didn't fit in to my school. This went on till seventh grade. About four months into seventh grade my beloved cat of 14 years died. I took this really hard and threw myself into schoolwork. Getting into the Sacramento Youth Symphony (as a violinist), my science fair project for the regional science fair, and preparing for my Jewish coming of age called a Bat Mitzvah.
Incidentally all these things corresponded with the ending of school. My audition with the Symphony was at the beginning of June. The deadline for my paper for science was on the 10th and off course my bat mitzvah was on the 19th. By late May I was having diarrhea and being so busy I brushed it off and didn't tell anyone.
It continued to get worse and I recall telling my mom right before my Bat mitzvah how I couldn't control my bowel movements. At that point my family was to busy to see my doctor and he was to busy to see us. It was so bad I remember thinking about how humiliating it would be to have to leave my own ceremony to go to the bathroom.
A week later I was having a much blood as poop in my stool. My mom's friend is a retired GI specialist and he gout us an appointment with a great doctor, also a GI specialist except she is a Pediatric GI specialist. I went through a number of blood tests and a horrid colonsocopy when they finally diagnosed me.
My family had to cancel our trip to Greece and Israel that summer. I went on steroids and a special diet by a woman who's daughter had colitis. It was a miracle worker. All my tests have been clear. I really feel though for those who are still struggling with IBD. we all support you.