Anyone who knows me at all has heard this story. This is one of my best stories - it is a little uplifting, a little depressing, but a story worth telling.
So, I first got sick at the end of the year 2000, being diagnosed in the first two months of 2001 with Ulcerative Colitis. They tried me on Pentasa, Salofalk, Imuran, 6MP, and Prednisone. I was hospitalized with Pancreatitis from reactions to each of these medications except for Prednisone. The Prednisone itself reduced some of the cramping and the pain, but the disease was still full-tilt. I dealt with embarrassing and horrible urgency, stomach pain, cramping, blood, exhaustion, and overall, I felt horrible... I ended up knowing how to interpret my body, I knew what every symptom meant, what every symptom was caused from, and got to know my various pains exceptionally well.
On Easter Sunday, 2003, I woke up and I had this feeling... But I had NO idea what it was. I remember that I was sitting in the kitchen with my mom and I was starting to panic. I couldn't tell what this feeling was... I even suggested we go into Emergency because it was so alarming.
My mom, however, was able to calm me down enough to figure out what is was.
I had NO pain! I had no stomach pain, I had energy, I had no urgency! It was as if God had decided to give me one day of a break.
So, I asked my parents if they would mind if I called my boyfriend at the time to fo for a bike ride - something I had been unable to do since I first got sick.
So I called him up... We went from my place, down to the river valley and through all of the trails, then up the coulees to the other side, all the way across to the opposite end of the city, then rode all the way back. It took SEVEN HOURS and I only had to stop a handful of times to go to the washroom. This was such a miracle of a day that I did not want it to end. I stayed up as late as I could to just enjoy the feeling, because I had no idea when I would get that kind of day again.
Safe to say, I woke up and it was back.
What that day did for me is help me decide to fight - always. It also helped me realize that there is hope.
The depressing part of this story is that that is the last day that I have had zero pain. I have some good days... I have some days where the pain is reduced...
That was the last time I had no pain.