Fighting For It.: UCSF Living with an Ileostomy

Summary Bio

I have a long list of illnesses (see it here). In 1995 at age fifteen I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (a disease of the large intestine), and I lived with it for seventeen years. In 2010, it spread and advanced to a severe diagnosis. I spent a year on a roller-coaster of intensive immunosuppressive drug therapies, only to end up requiring surgery to remove my large intestine and replace it with a j-pouch. After surviving three surgeries, I developed Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, the most debilitating illness of all. (Read "Myalgic Encephalomyelitis" and "The Spoon Theory" to understand more.) Below are the detailed accounts of my ups and downs on this journey.

UCSF Living with an Ileostomy

This is an informational booklet that the surgeon's assistant gave me at my pre-op surgical consult. I have scanned and uploaded my copy for your viewing pleasure. To view this resource in a more readable mode, click on the picture of the first page, and then click directly on the enlarged view to "turn" the page, or you can use the navigation bar at the bottom to skip ahead.