The Story Begins...(Part IV)

     In spite of the efforts to hold out until he returned home, the relationship did not work out. It was a difficult time in my life, but I don't have ANY regrets. You may only get one shot at love, so you love hard. If it doesn't work, you try to move on and hope to find love again.

     In 2006, I met the man that would eventually become my husband. Kyle was not my type....at all! However, I felt different in his company than I ever felt with any other guy. He had/has an aura of peace that I sooo needed at that time. Lo and behold, while dating him I began being less sick and was able to go back to school and become a certified residential and commercial building inspector. This was not my passion but I loved this line of work, and still do. It's a really cool career and I love being a woman in a male dominated field!

     

     Kyle and I dated for 7 months before getting engaged. Our wedding was planned for May 2008, but in January 2008, during a routine colonoscopy, my colon was punctured and I had to have immediate emergency surgery to remove 10 inches of my large intestine. It took me 5 months to recover!! The wound alone took two months to close. Our wedding was re-scheduled for October 3, 2008. It was a beautiful day and I know that God sent Kyle to me. He is a quiet force in my otherwise often tumultuous world. 

     The rest of 2008 through 2011 went ok. I went to TX and LA to do work for FEMA during hurricane season and did inspection work locally as well. I also did work for the census bureau in 2010. I had to go to the hospital every month for iron infusions and every 6-8 weeks for an infusion called Remicade which specifically targets Crohn’s disease. In mid 2011, the Remicade stopped working as effectively. I had a routine colonoscopy which revealed that my colon had narrowed around the rectum area (stricture) and there was danger of an obstruction. I had to have surgery to open this narrow area. It was an outpatient procedure called a dilatation. Afterwards, my father drove me to his home. As soon as we reached there, I immediately had to return to the ER with a temp of 104. I had developed something called bacteremia, which is when your blood starts becoming septic. 

     I was told I had a 50% mortality rate, had to be admitted and placed in a critical care unit for 11 days. This was not my first time hearing that I could die. I feel like a cat with 9 lives, 'cause I swear (ok, maybe I shouldn't swear...) I have cheated death so many times, I have lost count. After this health scare, my GI doctor (the wonderful Dr. Cuckoo Choudhary at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia) and I started to discuss other Crohn’s treatment alternatives. She really was adamant about me having my colon removed. In fact, she had been talking about this for about a year at this point. I would just shake my head and say “No”. I mean, I’m only in my 30’s. I would say, “If I was in my 80’s yes, because I would’ve lived a full life by then, but I’m only in my 30’s.” I didn’t want to be associated with anything that involved a colostomy bag (I had never even heard of an ileostomy before). In my mind, it would stink, everyone would be able to see it, and people would talk about me.