It made me see how strong and capable I was in
certain ways. I did find it eventually to become
empowering. It definitely taught me the importance
of listening to your body, to your intuition.
You know, even when you have doctors telling
you certain things, advocate for yourself. I
cannot stress that enough. Advocate for yourself.
Welcome back to Colitis Unfiltered. My name is
Frank Tabering, and today I have the pleasure
of speaking with Jamie, who got diagnosed with
ulcerative colitis at age 25 in Chicago, Illinois.
Jamie, it's a pleasure to have you on the show
today. Thank you for having me. So let's dive
right into it. We're going to talk about colitis
today, and colitis, well, mostly starts with
symptoms. Going back for you, at age 25, what
were the first symptoms that showed up? What
indicated to you that there was something wrong?
Well, it's actually kind of a funny story. I
had every symptom by the book, you know, the
abdominal pain, diarrhea, just you name it, the
bloating. If it was on WebMD, I had it. And I
actually, eight months prior to getting diagnosed,
I diagnosed myself on my lunch break at work
and I called my mom and I said, oh, my gosh,
I think I have ulcerative colitis. And she was
like, oh, Jamie, like she thought I was being
dramatic. Right. And and she was like, if you
actually think that you need to go to the doctor
and get that looked at. And I was like, yeah,
no, I'm probably not going to do that because
what if something's wrong? And then I. Ended
up getting a really bad reaction on my legs.
And so they gave me a dose of prednisone where
it's like, you know, the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 pack.
And when I got down to the one, the rash flared
up again. So they gave me another pack. And then
I was really good. Like I felt good for months
after that. And so I never went. I never went
to the doctor. I later found out that prednisone
was one of the only medications that worked really
well for me. So I had a really interesting start
to what I was feeling and then in a lot of denial
about. So you're probably the first person that
I heard who actually self -diagnosed. you know,
colitis, especially it's a complex disease. At
least when I was diagnosed, that was the first
time that I've ever heard of it. And I'm sure
it was the same for you, but you picked up your
knowledge from the internet, right? Well, yeah,
I had never heard of it. I just like typed in
my symptoms in Google and that came up. I had
never heard of ulcerative colitis. I had heard
of Crohn's, but I had never heard of ulcerative
colitis prior to my WebMD search. And then when
I actually got diagnosed with it was the first
time that I really was like, oh, OK. And then,
you know, started hearing about other people
having it and learning more about it. But it
was completely foreign to me initially. And I
didn't even go to the doctor then. Like I said,
I. When I took that prednisone, I mean, I felt
like I was on top of the world again. It was
just the kick I needed to mask the symptoms at
the time. And so I had gone to my hometown for
this little festival, this like Halloween festival
they have every year. And I was 25 and I just
turned 25 and hanging out with my friends and
having fun on Friday night. And felt totally
fine. And then the next morning, I woke up. And
I didn't think that I had had that much to drink.
But I definitely was, you know, cutting up and
letting loose a little bit. So I thought, oh,
maybe I did overdo it a little bit. And thought
I was hungover. And as the day went on, I felt
worse and worse and worse. And tried to eat.
And that made me feel even more sick. And so
I thought, oh, my gosh. must have the flu. I
was teaching second grade at the time and it
was end of October. So, you know, we're starting
to get into cold and flu season and a lot of
my kids were sick. And so I thought, oh, I must
have what, you know, what's going around with
my students. So by about Wednesday, I was like,
I don't actually think this is the flu. I'm Every
day I'm feeling worse instead of better. I better
call the doctor. And so I did. And they did some
blood work. And of course, my white blood cell
count was like outrageous. And my doctor said,
I want you to go and see this GI. And so I had
to wait almost another week. I finally get into
the GI and he's an older gentleman and he tells
me he asked me what my symptoms are and I kind
of fibbed about them because I was raised very
like girls don't talk about those things you
don't share and he said you know your your symptoms
don't seem real severe but you look like you
don't feel that well. I think he kind of like
knew I was embarrassed to be totally honest about
what was really happening. And he said, you have
to have a colonoscopy. And I started laughing.
I was 25 years old. I started laughing. I said,
no, cancer patients and old men have colonoscopies.
Not me. I'm young. I'm healthy. And he said,
well, cancer patients, old men, and you have
colonoscopies now. I said, okay. So I called
my parents and told them what was going on. Because
of course, they're worried sick. They live like
five hours away from me at the time. My mother's
really worried. What's going on with you? So
they came up because I needed a driver for my
colonoscopy, my first of many colonoscopies.
And I had a huge phobia of needles at the time,
like a full -on panic attack getting my first
IV, which is important too, a little later. And,
you know, my dad's upset watching this all go
down. He starts to get choked up. He has to leave.
My mom like puts on the mother warrior face,
you know, like you just have to do this. You
have to get through this. We have to find out
what's going on. So I have my colonoscopy and
my doctor, my GI comes out and he tells me, I
don't know how you've been living like this.
You are the worst I have ever seen undiagnosed
in my entire career. It is the the damage from
the ulcerative colitis is all the way through
your entire colon already. And he slid a Valium
script across the table to me. He said, get this
filled. You're going to need it because you have
a lot more needles coming your way because you
witnessed my IV meltdown. Now I can take a shot,
get an IV with no problems. I've come a long
way, but. You know, that was like my biggest
medical fear at the time, which is just so hysterical
to me now because I've been through so much and
I've had so much trauma since that it's just
like, you know, I look at myself like, oh, that
poor girl, you know, she had no idea, no idea
what was coming in the next year. But yeah, that's
how it started. And it just got a little crazier
from there. That's great. And we're going to
get to that there. I got to tell you, it's been
12 years now that I've been diagnosed. I was
29. But still to this day, I can't with the needles.
So I still load up on glucose every infusion
I have for my biologics just to make sure my
body doesn't trick me into want to faint. And
so I can definitely relate to that part. Obviously,
by the time you saw this GI and by the time you
got officially diagnosed, at least you heard
of colitis at that point. But hearing an unofficial
diagnosis, hearing somebody say that the condition
of your intestines is very dramatic, for the
lack of a better word, what went through your
mind when he said that? In one sense, I was relieved
that I had a diagnosis and a care plan set in
place. I'm very like results driven, but I was
probably in a little bit of denial slash didn't
fully understand what was coming or what that
meant for me. I didn't fully understand how sick
I was. I don't even know if I processed how truly
sick I was until well after. I was, I would say
like through it, like after my surgeries and
stuff, you know, and, and I remember multiple
people telling me like, well, at least you don't
have cancer. You know, it's like, well, yeah,
I mean, you're comparing apples and oranges here
a little bit, you know, it's like, that was always
like a confusing reaction or response for me.
And I never knew like, what to say to it, or
you would get things like, um, oh, wow, I need
to, you know, I need to get what you have so
I can lose the last like baby weight or, you
know, people, people just say these like really
wild things to you. And, and I think a lot because
they don't know what to say, but you're trying
to process what you're going through and understand
it. And then you have people saying these ridiculous
things to you, even though they, they mean well.
It's an interesting place to sit at. Yeah, for
sure. For sure, for sure. So you kind of gave
it away. That diagnosis obviously was not the
end of your IBD journey. You mentioned surgeries.
That's eventually where you ended up. Can you
basically take us through the timeline between
your diagnosis and then where you are today?
Did your GI start you off with just five ASAs,
prednisone, biologics? Did he tell you, listen,
the damage is so bad that we'll have to go to
surgery right away? What was that path like from
then to where you ended up surgery? So we're
into November now. That was October. We're into
November now. And he said, you know, there's
this great drug. I'm going to put you on and
it should work. And it was... azacol and i took
it for about three days and i thought wow like
i'm getting so much relief and when i got hospitalized
it got way worse i was in the hospital for like
four or five days getting back on my feet and
feeling good again from the um iv antibiotics
and um they released me and they put me on lealda
and Same thing happened. I was on it for like
three, four days and then got hospitalized again,
spent Thanksgiving in the hospital. And they
realized that I probably had a mesalamine allergy
and the drug wasn't going to work. And they just
pumped up the prednisone. So the GI issues, actually
felt, I felt pretty good. And I went on a really
strict diet and, uh, you know, at one point I
was up to like 70 milligrams a day or something
like that of prednisone. It was a lot. So it's
like, my belly's feeling great, but you're getting
joint pain. You're not sleeping well. You know,
my face, I was so thin from being sick, but my
face looked like you put a pin in and I would
just like pop like a balloon, you know? And,
uh, Then I just kept having flares. Then it got
to a point where the prednisone wasn't really
working anymore. And my doctor was like, we can't
put you on more prednisone. You're like maxing
out at this point. So we started Remicade and
it was working really well for a while or so
I thought. And then it seemed like my symptoms
were starting to flare up again. So along with
the Remicade, he went old school and prescribed
me sulfur drugs. around June of that year. And
I thought I was doing really well. And I had
gone back home to visit my parents again. And
I woke up one morning and I called my mom at
work and I said, you've got to, you have to come
home. Like something is severely wrong. And my
parents live in Southern Illinois. So I was about
five, six hours away from my doctor. So I called
my, cause there was no way I was going to be
able to ride in the car for that long. And so
I called my doctor. I said, you know, I'm six
hours away. What do I do? And he said, go to
St. Louis. So we load up in the car. We go there.
I stayed there for four or five nights. And I
basically begged them to let me out and let me
go home because I had been waiting to get into
this doctor. actually in chicago i was out in
the suburbs and i had an appointment that i'd
been calling to try to see this doctor and get
in and i said i have this appointment coming
up will you please let me go so that i can go
to this appointment and they released me from
the hospital and said yes that's actually a better
place for you to be if you can get in there that's
great And so they released me the next day and
I went straight from the hospital to my doctor
and told him what was going on. And I got a lovely
rush hour ambulance ride from my doctor out in
the suburbs to the hospital in the city that
I was wanting to, that I was trying to get into
and was supposed to go to the following week.
And they admitted me into the hospital. And I
got a lovely 31 -day stay after that. I got the
entire month of August and some of September
in this hospital where I was no longer eating.
I was being fed by IV. I got my sixth colonoscopy
in one year. with a nice display you know it
was a teaching hospital also so I had like six
med students a fellow the doctor the you know
had a whole audience for that it was wonderful
and uh they I got a little bout of c -diff on
my hospital stay and had an accident getting
tangled up in my wires trying to get out of bed
in front of like six people in my room and so
I had an MRI trying to figure out first make
sure it's not Crohn's, figure out what to do
with me. Um, I had during my MRI, they did like
a whole ink contrast thing and my IV blew out.
Ink went all over my face and my hair was in
the tube. Like it was just rough. Yeah. And,
uh, so my doctor came and talked to me on a Friday
and he said, These are your options. I'm going
to think about it over the weekend. One of them
being cyclosporine or surgery. My doctor said,
I'm going to think about you over the weekend.
Let's talk on Monday. So he comes back on Monday.
He sits down on my bed and he's just the loveliest
man. gentle, soft -spoken, extremely caring,
just excellent bedside manner. And he puts his
hand on my leg as I'm laying there withering
away. And he says, I've thought about you all
weekend, nonstop. I just, you know, and I think
the best option is surgery. And if you want to
try the other things, I can try to get you into
a case study. I can, you know, I'll do the cyclosporine
for you. But I really think that surgery is,
where we need to go. Sorry, I'm getting a little
emotional. That was my worst fear and my biggest
fear come true. Before I had gone to that doctor,
like when this all started, my sister had gone
to an appointment with me and with my original
GI. And we'd gone through like, what's the worst
case scenario? And of course, at that time, that
surgery was it. And my sister laughed, just kind
of. speaking in hyperbole and being silly, said
to me, oh my God, Jamie, if you end up with a
bag, you'll never get another date again. And
of course, we didn't fully understand what that
was. And she was just kind of being a silly big
sister or whatever. And we never thought it would
get to that either. But of course, now I'm laying
there in that bed and I'm 25 and single and I'm...
terrified and that's all I can hear is her voice
in my head and of course when she found out that
was what was happening she called me she said
I instantly thought of that and I'm so sorry
and I didn't mean it and it's not true and you
know that I think the guilt was pretty high for
her and Also, I knew the side effects of how
that could impact like fertility or ability to,
you know, conceive. And so that's racing through
my mind at the time. I had always really wanted
to be a mother. And so it's including all of
those fears. And my parents at that time were
taking turns staying in the hospital with me.
And so my dad was with me that day. After the
doctor left, he just sat down on my bed. on my
hospital bed and he said we'll just cry together
and that's what we did and uh I didn't know that
day that that was going to be the best thing
that ever happened to me but it really was it
it saved my life and it gave me my life back
um but it was really really scary in the moment
Yeah, I can imagine. And what a journey, by the
way. I mean, you basically covered a period of
one, one and a half years and going through so
much. It sounds like you were basically on the
edge nonstop, right? Between periods of feeling
okay, but then again, landing in the hospital.
So it was a back and forth. Now, after all of
this, today, how are you feeling? And, you know,
I... I think you have a J -pouch now, right?
So tell me, what is life like with that? And
how are you feeling? They did it in a three -step
process because I was so sick. And so in the
first surgery, they removed my colon and created
an ileostomy. And so I still had to be really
careful about what I was eating and letting that
heal and learning how to take care of my ostomy.
You know, it's shocking to see your stoma for
the first few times and all of that. So that
all happened in that August, September timeframe.
And then in the following April of 2010, they
removed the rectum, created a J pouch and a loop
ostomy. And again, I had to go back to the strict
diet and letting it heal. But during that time,
I wasn't taking any medication, just vitamins.
Just kind of letting my body, focusing on gaining
weight, letting my body heal and making sure
that I was strong enough for each step. And a
lot of doctor's appointments, a lot of tears
still. And then in July 2010, I had my ostomy
takedown. And since then, I haven't been on medication
other than, you know, I've had some. bouts of
pouchitis here and there and you take antibiotics
for it but I have really learned my body I've
learned how to take care of myself and how to
monitor a lot with diet and it just it's it I
just keep saying it but it saved my life it gave
me my life back I I mean I can even eat obviously
in moderation but salad nuts popcorn doesn't
bother me like I am just so incredibly lucky
to wake up most days and feel really good. You
know, you have to factor in dehydration. That's
an issue with a pouch. And so monitoring that,
I was able to have children. I had two. The first
one, I had to work with a fertility doctor and
we did four rounds of IUI to conceive him. hormones
from pregnancy and postpartum definitely have
had an impact. And I have kind of been in a state
of chronic inflammation since then with my pouch
that I'm still currently working through. I just
had another baby in January. She was a surprise,
but a wonderful blessing. We just didn't think
that was an option for us after everything we
had gone through to conceive our son. you know,
we're kind of back with the stress that puts
on your body and the hormone changes and everything
where, you know, I'm working with my current
GI on trying to figure out what the best plan
of action is to, to kind of reel that back in.
And for pouchitis, we, you know, it's Cipro used
to be my go -to and that's kind of run its course
where I started having more negative side effects
than the the benefits and so we've moved on to
other things like you know we've done the rectal
foams and the suppositories and all the other
fun things and medications that come with um
the trade -off you know um but we're we're figuring
it out and i also take a probiotic every day
um that i have found to be really helpful so
happy ending More or less, regardless, based
on what you want. And I want to, before we move
on, I want to very quickly go back. So a lot
of people or most people are familiar with ostomy,
but today you have a J pouch. You and I were
not doctors, but could you very briefly explain
to our audience this concept of a J pouch versus
an ostomy? Sure. So an ostomy is what most people
are familiar with. It's a bag on the outside
of your body that you use. for exit, I guess.
Is that the polite way to say it? And then...
A J -pouch is basically that internally. So you
don't have the medical devices and the actual
physical bag. They take the first part of your
small bowel and they create what they call a
J -pouch and essentially create a new rectum
or reservoir for you. They have to leave a small
cuff of your rectum because they need something
to stitch or staple to. then you just learn how
to reuse your body again, which can be an interesting
experience. You go traditionally the way you
would have before having the external bag, but
you have to change your expectations a bit. It's
not the way you remember it before you're...
before your colon is removed but you you know
a modium can can be your best friend helps and
just making sure that you're watching your diet
in different ways than you did with like with
a uc flare so i had to watch my diet to not um
irritate the ulcers now i watch my diet to make
sure that I'm not dehydrating myself and flushing
my system because you don't have all the things
in your colon you need to make it make your output
more formed and you're missing the key bacterias
and all the good things that are in the colon
and so it's a lot of carb loading it's a lot
of It helps to avoid foods that do create more
gas, drinking through a straw, even though I
personally choose to still use straws and do
some of those things, knowing the consequences
or knowing how to balance it. And a lot of it
is just learning your body after that. So for
me, I avoid caffeine because I know that's just
an unnecessary obstacle for me. Um, but then,
you know, like I said, I'll have salad or popcorn
knowing that I might have to balance that out
a little bit later with eating a sandwich or,
um, I can't even tell you the, I've probably
eaten my weight plus some pretzels over the last
15 years. That's just a really easy, quick go
-to food or snack for me when I know that I need
to thicken up output and get myself back on track.
So a lot of trade -offs. And I think the message
here is clear because there's a general misconception
around surgery or on ostomy. And I think also
Jay Pouch that, hey, they take the colon out
and I am cured, right? However, in a way, yes,
but in another way, no. So based on what I'm
hearing here. Yes, you feel much better. Yes,
you have had a lot more blessings coming your
way ever since you've had the surgeries. However,
your IBD journey does not end there, right? Yeah,
it's definitely a trade -off, but I would choose
this compared to how I was living or not living
prior to surgery every single time. And it's
just so much about educating yourself and understanding
your body. learning your cues, knowing how to
take care of yourself so that it doesn't get
away from you. And I've, I have personally found
it to be so much more manageable than what life
was like with active UC. Now that's not to say
that there was not a learning curve because there
definitely was. And it was not an easy transition
physically or emotionally going through having
the bag and even transitioning. um from not having
the external bag anymore and going to the jay
pouch and like i said learning how to use your
body again and like being paranoid about not
having an accident or when i had the bag i would
constantly ask my friends like i was so insecure
that i was worried like that you could smell
it or that you could see it or and also at that
time there was not the positivity around having
an ostomy or being open talking about these things
like there is now like I get on Instagram now
and I see these girls in their swimsuits and
these adorable outfits with their bag out and
I just think like it's so awesome it's so inspiring
and I just was not in that place and I didn't
have anyone to look to when I was in that place
in my journey to like inspire me In connection
to this, you mentioned that one of the good things
that came out of this entire ordeal that you
went through is that you learned a lot more about
your body, a lot more conscience about your health.
I always refer to it as a blessing and a curse,
right? There's bad when we are at our worst,
and then when we get better, either through surgery,
through remission, there's a lot of good that
comes from it. In your case, how do you relate
to that thought of it being a blessing and a
curse? And also your journey, how has it changed
you as a person fundamentally? As far as the
curse, that's pretty obvious. It's a rough journey.
So, you know, it's self -explanatory. The blessing,
though, I think it made me see how strong and
capable I was in certain ways. I did find it.
eventually to become empowering. It definitely
taught me the importance of listening to your
body, to your intuition. Even when you have doctors
telling you certain things, advocate for yourself.
I cannot stress that enough. advocate for yourself
if you feel something is wrong something is off
because i had my main doctors i had really incredible
care but i've met er doctors along the way when
i've been in you know when i've had a bump along
the way on a weekend or in the middle of the
night or whatever you know or an urgent care
doctor that you advocate for yourself and feel
strong in your voice and share your story Because
it's not something to be embarrassed of or feel
shame about. It's unfortunately a very common
issue for a lot more people than we realize.
And I think it's so important that we stick together
and we support each other. And there's just so
much healing in that. And I think that's some
of the blessing is the community that you can
find in it, that you don't have to suffer alone.
Absolutely. And you hit the nail on the head.
This is exactly my main point as well. I always
say, put your foot down, speak up for yourselves.
Not every doctor is equal. Not every doctor,
not even every GI is a colitis, Crohn's or IBD
specialist. You need somebody who is proactive.
And if you feel that they're not proactive enough,
just be relentless. Because somebody out there
will listen to you. And sometimes it takes a
little bit of time to sort of be paired or matched
with that person, that GI that really, you know,
works in your favor. But I think more commonly
what I'm seeing is Crohn's and colitis. This
is not something that you want to lose time over
because of a lack of productivity from a physician,
right? I mean, we just don't have that time to
waste sometimes. So, you know. To paraphrase
your words, speak up. Absolutely. I think this
is like one of the most crucial things. Absolutely.
So you've learned a lot during these turbulent
years. If you could go back now to when you first
diagnosed, what are some of the things that you
wish you had known back then that you've picked
up along your journey? It's bad or it's hard.
But it's not as awful or scary as I thought.
I think especially around the surgery piece.
To not hide away in my room or feel sorry for
myself or feel sad. I missed out on opportunities
with my friends. Maybe I should have gone ahead
and gone to dinner and just... not eaten or just,
you know, enjoyed the being with my friends aspect
of it instead of completely sitting at home alone
while they were all out making memories together.
Like don't stop living your life because of it.
Don't hide away at home. And, you know, sometimes
we have to hide away at home and we can't go
too far from the bathroom. And some days are
just like that and that's okay. But the days
that are not like that don't continue. to hide
away. If there's something you want to do, people
you want to see, memories you want to make, an
adventure you want to go on, do it. Don't let
it stop you. It's not a death sentence. You don't
have to hide away. I wish when I first started
feeling some of these things and instinctually
knew that something was off, that I would have
sought help then. And the journey still would
have been hard, but maybe it didn't have to be
as hard as mine was because I was so sick by
the time that I got diagnosed. Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely. There's no shame in heading to the
doctor or the urgent care or emergency room right
away. So these are all very valuable tips. And
thank you for sharing that. One of the reasons
why I started this podcast is to, first of all,
raise awareness, but also sort of build out a
platform for people who have questions, who might
feel alone, who don't have all the answers, who
might be embarrassed to ask their doctor, friends
and family. And you are also doing your part.
And in your case, you told me you released a
journal and a guide titled Rooted and Resilient.
that could be beneficial to people who were recently
diagnosed. Can you tell us a little bit more
about Rooted and Resilient, where the idea come
from and what it is exactly and how it can benefit
people with IBD? Sure. I always had a goal of
writing a book. That was the original plan. I
wanted to write a book kind of like a memoir
of my journey because I was so lonely going through
my journey. And at that time, the only thing
I could find was medical journals, articles.
And there wasn't anything out there that was
just like, hey, this sucks. But like there's
a light at the end of the tunnel. You can do
this. You can get through this. You're not alone.
You're not the only one going through it. Just
that isolation that I felt. And so I did start
writing a book just kind of as my own therapy.
And then I decided. I didn't actually want to
share it because by the time I got to a point
where I felt like it was potentially ready or
could be shared, I wasn't that person anymore.
I had come so far and I had healed so much that
when I read it, I felt really sorry for that
girl when I reread it because I had grown so
much and I had come so far in my journey and
I felt like she was just a little too sad to
release on the world, you know? And so I took
the important pieces of that and instead I shifted
it and tried to turn it into more of a guide
and a journal or resource that I wish I had on
my journey to make it easier. And so, you know,
there's... some food ideas in there and there's
a section on if you do end up with an ostomy
how to hide or dress for it if you're someone
who is in a place like i was that wasn't ready
to show it to the world yet and i think that's
super awesome for the people who do and and i
i wish that i had that inspiration when i was
going through it but i also know how i personally
felt about mine so for anyone who hasn't arrived
to that boldness and that empowerment yet here
a little like here's some tips and tricks that
I found to help me along the way as I was learning
to to love it and appreciate my ostomy and this
new version of myself so that's in there and
then a big chunk of it is the journal section,
which has a BM tracker on it, a place for you
to write down your meals and track your medications.
And I try to include a large mental health piece.
So a place to write an affirmation every day
and focus on like, what are you doing for yourself
to make yourself feel better? Whether that's
Physically, emotionally, spiritually, what is
something that triggered you today? Maybe emotionally
triggered you and caused stress, or maybe it
was a physical trigger symptom. And then a place
for what brought you joy today? Because I think
it's so important to have that gratitude and
highlight even when you are like, I need to go
to bed. I need this day to be over. This day
straight up just sucked. It's very important
to not get sucked into that. and find the the
small joys in the day even if it's just that
you got out of bed today if that is the only
thing that you were able to accomplish that day
that's worth celebrating. It's a big deal, you
know, or you left the house, you went on an errand
by yourself, depending on where you're at in
your journey. Or, you know, maybe you went to
a concert you really wanted to go to, whatever
it is, that's your joy or your accomplishment
for that day. I think it's really important to
highlight that and celebrate that. And that looks
different for everybody. And that's okay. So
that's the goal. And I told my friends and family
when i wrote it that you know if it only reaches
one person but it helps them then i'm i'm happy
with that that's exactly the attitude to have
and i gotta tell you which is which is great
and i hope it will continue to reach a lot of
people and i i now hearing you talk about i wish
I had something like that because when I go back,
this was in 2013, basically my journal consists
of just email exchanges between me and my medical
team and most of them are just very depressing.
So, you know, so basically my good moments or
the small wins, the small victories that you
touched on, I mean, they're luckily stored in
my memory as best as I can remember them. But
this is a great initiative. And where can people
find this, purchase this? It's on Amazon. Well,
the original and then there's, if you like the
journal pages, there's a companion guide that's
really just the journal. There's a little bit
of other stuff in it, but it's really focused
on just the journal pages. And it's three months
instead of one month. So that's not too overwhelming.
But yeah, they're both listed on there. And please
go free check them out. I hope that it, I hope
it helps someone. That's really the goal. Absolutely.
And we will put the link to both of those editions
in the show notes as well for ease of use. So
Jamie, I want to thank you so much for being
with us today and sharing your journey. I really
do admire your resilience, especially through
those years of... you know, hospital stays and
flares and uncertainty. I wish you nothing but
the best moving forward with your J -Pouch and
with your family and all the blessings that you've
sort of picked up during your journey. And I
want to just thank you again for being here with
us today. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
That's it for today's episode of Colitis Unfiltered.
I'm Frank Klebring. And if this hit home or hit
your gut, do us a favor. subscribe to the show
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we'll see you soon for more inspiring stories
from the bathroom floor