“Looking back at my younger years with Crohn’s Disease, I can’t help but feel robbed. If I could go back and meet my childhood self I would hug her and tell her it would all be okay.
Overall, my childhood was great! My parents were amazing and took us to all the fun places and I had all the cool things. But yet, I still feel robbed by the disease that brought me down so many times. I was the nine-year-old sleeping on the bathroom floor, passed out. I was the kid that sat on the bench at the park while the other kids played because I was either too tired or hurting. I missed a ridiculous amount of school, spent too much time in the hospital, and worst of all I grew up living everyday in pain and had to learn how to live through it. The pain was normal.
I was diagnosed at nine years old and suffered until about the age of 22 before entering remission. During my teen years, I started to feel really alone in my pain. No one knew what I was going through. No one knew what it felt like. No one else knew the struggle. These were the thoughts that were going through my head during that time. It’s true that no one knew exactly what I was going through, but what I didn’t realize was all of the people that were there supporting me. Shortly after my teenage years, I found God in college and everything changed. I was no longer angry, frustrated, or alone. I actually felt joy and peace with the life given to me and the trials I had overcome. The adversity that I have been through ever since I was a child has shaped me into the woman I am today. I realize now that I am strong. I am incredibly strong.
In 2015, my small intestine ruptured and I had a part of my body that was causing me pain, removed. I was healed, essentially. I remain on medication but haven’t had any flares since then. I had my beautiful baby girl (which I wasn’t even sure would be possible at times) with my amazing and supportive husband. I am living a great life and I am so thankful for Christ, who literally gave me the strength. I have taken my life back and found purpose and beauty in the pain while remaining close to God and gaining a greater perspective on the simpler things in life. I appreciate so much more and love deeper now than I ever have before.”
Lauren
