I already knew what the Crohn disease is, because my father suffers from it. However, I didn't know it that well, because hopefully ma father is one of those who didn't have many symptoms. Let's just say Crohn went easy on him. Sometimes, I wonder if I had to pay for us both...

Crohn's disease appeared later in my life, a little bit after my 30th birthday. At that time, I was focusing on my career and the way others see me. I was also starting to think of having my own family.

I did have a few symptoms, but I didn't expect was what going to happen. After five days of not eating anything and constantly sitting on the toilet, I went to the hospital. My diagnosis came a few hours later, and it was indeed Crohn's disease. Because I had seen my father deal with it, I thought I'd recover fairly quickly. I wasn't going to let the disease take control of my life.

The outcome was completely different from what I expected. I slowly got better during the first few months, and I even managed to go back to work. I wasn't in top shape, but I needed to go back to my daily life, ride my horse and move on. However, only four months after going back to work, I had to give up and stop working again. Crohn had gotten the best of me.

I always told myself that if I ever needed a pouch I'd go for it, but I never imagined I'd actually need one. But after a year, nothing was working and my health kept getting worse. I wasn't comfortable when sitting or standing up. I was always tired and had no energy. I wasn't able to do any activities. The pain I felt around my tailbone ruined my life.

I underwent surgery a year and a half after receiving my diagnosis. They removed my rectum, my anus and and a small part of my colon. I now have an ostomy that I call Georges. Like everybody else, I took some time to recover and accept my new body and my new reality. By searching on the Internet, I learned a lot about my condition and how it isn't the end of the world. I'm not the only one going through it. I learned to love myself, and I was given another chance at life. Today, I make sure to get the most of it. I am working again, I am training my mare and who knows, maybe I'll have a family one day. All I can tell you is that I now enjoy every single moment.

Joannie Houde

This article is brought to you by: Premier Ostomy Centre