My Journey as a athlete with Crohn’s disease
During my freshman year of college while attending the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa, I endured one of the toughest battles of my life. I was unfortunately diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Dealing with Crohn’s so far from home at only 18 years old while also playing football, was a lot for me to handle.
In the beginning stages, I had no idea what exactly I was dealing with. I was in and out of the Emergency Room because of internal bleeding, constant pain, vomiting, and taking a ridiculous amount of over the counter medication that didn’t really help at all. I didn’t get confirmation that it was Crohn’s until Christmas break that year.
With my diagnosis and the hope that the medicine my doctor prescribed would work, I told my parents that I still wanted to go back and try to finish my freshman year and participate in offseason football. They reluctantly agreed. But I didn’t get to do either. As soon as I got back on campus, I had to go to the ER again because I was getting blood clots from not being able to even drink water. I had to get IVs to help me rehydrate. As time went on, my condition worsened, and in February, I had to medically withdraw from school.
When I got home, my condition continued to deteriorate. All I could do was sit in bed and try to eat literally anything, only to throw it up minutes later. I was in constant pain and eventually became depressed from not being able to control my own body or sleep because of the pain and vomiting. By May, I had lost over 60 pounds, going from 200 to 140. I was truly lost and had no idea what I was going to do. I was consistently praying and receiving prayers from friends and family. Eventually, I those prayers were answered.
In mid-May, my new gastrointologist prescribed Stelara, which is a simple human biologic injection. The first dose is given as an infusion. A couple of weeks after my first dose, my appetite skyrocketed out of nowhere. I actually felt hungry for first time in a long while. After months of my body basically eating itself alive, I finally had the chance to eat food again with no vomiting or pain. A couple more weeks went by, and I became more active again. I was able to work out and lift weights. I felt revived. The strength that I thought would never come back after losing so much muscle mass returned twice as strong.
I made the decision to go back to college and talked with my mom about it. She encouraged me to go. Even though, in the back of my mind, I thought I would be so far behind everyone else after missing spring football, none of that mattered once I made my decision to return. I worked hard during the little time I had left in the summer. Miraculously, I gained back 70 pounds, got stronger, and had way more confidence than I did going into my freshman year.
After returning to the team, they all welcomed me back and helped me to catch up on what I missed. I went on to start that year and get my first college football playing experience. They also recognized my journey and honored my resilience and determination by recently selecting me to serve in a leadership position as part of the team's Legacy Council for next year.
Since then, I have made it my goal to share my journey with those going through similar challenges. I hope my story encourages them to have faith, stay focused and to never give up.
