First Foot

So, my first real diagnosed flare up in 1998 was classified as proctitis (inflammation in the lower portion of the colon). I was on and off medications to keep the symptoms at bay when they reared their ugly head. It was nothing to really worry about, it only affected the first foot of my colon – hell, I had 5 other feet! I continued to think this way. It just became a way of life. Get a flare up, take the pills, use the suppositories, get better. Suddenly, these cycles were repeating too frequently. The proctitis was creeping up my colon, and then all of a sudden the doctors were calling it Ulcerative Colitis. Even I knew this was not a good development (it meant that a larger portion of the colon was involved), but still NOT a big deal. Deny, deny, deny… I then found myself at my doctors’ office quarterly, which became monthly, then weekly. I had been on prednisone so long I looked like a pufferfish. I had a really hard time trying to cope with this, because when one is in the bathroom 20 times a day, ONE WOULD THINK…I should be on the new cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue! Not so much…oh well…one can still dream…