Chapter 1

Illness

We all have those defining moments or chapters in our lives that make us who we are. For me,  three main chapters left an indelible impact. The first was a chapter of illness. I was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis at age 14. 

I’ll spare you the details, but I spent the next 15 years battling flares that sometimes had me hospitalized, taking horrible medications (that did nothing but mask *some* of the symptoms), and feeling incredibly out of control of my own body. 

At one point in my late teens, my doctor painted a dim picture of my future, explaining there was no cure and that it would inevitably get worse and worse as I aged. He told me I would most likely have to have my colon removed at some point and live with a colostomy.

Guadalupe Peak (Texas high point)

I did everything my doctors told me, which was basically to just take my medication and go on a liquid diet when an attack began. My last bad flare was over a decade ago, at which point, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I stopped referring to the disease as “my ulcerative colitis,” as if it was something I owned. I started doing my own research on supplements, read everything I could get my hands on, and went on a series of strict elimination diets (over a couple of years). 

For 12 years, I’ve been in remission with no medication, and my most recent colonoscopy left my doctors shocked. There’s no sign of present or past disease in my colon anymore.

Put simply: I am healed.

Highest peak of the East!

Here’s what I learned from UC: The disease is very painful. There were times I remember feeling like I was losing my mind from the constant pain. I learned that when I let the pain upset me — that is, when I focused on it — I would get even sicker. Unbeknownst to me, ulcerative colitis was teaching me how to endure extreme discomfort and to be unshaken by it. 

I also realized that when I let myself get really upset, stressed out, anxious, etc., the disease would often flare. So, even when I wasn’t sick, I began practicing control over my mind and emotions. Rather than get upset over something, I’d focus on what I could control, practice gratitude, and try to reframe my perspective. I became resilient and unshakable, both physically and mentally, as a result of having that disease. 

I remember thinking how unfair it was that I’d been given that illness, but in retrospect, it ended up being a superpower. The gift of strength and grit that emerged from all those years of debilitating disease was absolutely worth it.

Continue on to Chapter 2…

Sedona with the pups

Begin Your Transformation

Who could you be six months from now?
What could you look like?
What new beliefs could you develop?
How unstoppable could you become?